Carter Stroud

Natural Selection's Paradox: the Outlaw Gene, the Religion of Money, and the Origin of Evil Carter Stroud

Natural Selection's Paradox provides a means for distinguishing fact from belief and feeling from reason. By recognizing natural selection's limitations, long ignored by science, the author is able to integrate insights from both cutting-edge and long-established research to help us identify sustainable adaptations and strategies.

Natural selection is "limited" by the fact that it is an algorithm based on efficient use of resources at any given time, with no reference to an agenda or a future. Hence, it does not guarantee the best design. There are two systemic blind spots in the process of evolution that may bias design. First, natural selection does not distinguish short-term from long-term adaptations in the short term. If the short-term adaptation uses up the resources necessary for the long term, the species will become extinct. This is a distinct danger for humans because of our ability to change the environment.

Second, interspecies competition may also bias design. The most frequent examples are the competitions between males for females. Huge antlers are heavy and get caught in brush. Bigger antlers may defeat other males but the species does not benefit from the genetic arms race for supremacy between individuals. If all males had the same antlers (smaller), the stronger would prevail, thus serving natural selection, and more males would survive.

The author refers to these limitations as natural selection's paradox. The book deals with the consequences, namely, that we are adapting to the wrong thing, because of the dominance of short-term adaptations. Most short-term adaptations involve technology. For example, we once were limited to the annual rainfall that was stored in rivers and lakes. Now we have pumps that go thousands of feet underground, or underwater, to tap million year old water supplies. When that is gone natural rainfall will not be adequate to sustain us.

We adapt to our inventions instead of the natural world that design our DNA, which defines the limitations on our ability to adapt. Our invention of virtual wealth, money--to which we adapt most frequently--encourages many short-term strategies.

Natural Selection?s Paradox: The Outlaw Gene, the Religion of Money, and the Origin of Evil is a far-reaching account of how behavior develops, and how adaptations may become counter-productive even as they are highly praised. The book employs a number of disciplines, from biology to mythology. There are many surprising insights in this engaging work.