Natural selection for stupid people?

[Another Dude]

Do you think natural selection will become a thing for stupid people? This is an honest question. My fellow teenagers are selfie-taking, drug-doing, party-going idiots. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some stuck up kid who think he's smarter than people. I'm of average intelligence (which is sad that I can actually look down on these people).

With their compulsive use of drugs and the need to take selfies (like taking an imagine of yourself while your grandma is dying, thanks Facebook) will the things they do eventually kill them?

I'm thinking about alcohol and drugs, mostly. But social media addicts can easily become the people living in their parents basement until they get kicked out, live on the streets, and starve. So. While a strange question, I'm doing this for my own thinking.

[Asst Prof]

Because humans live in a civilized society (or, at least we like to think so), we are not subject to the same "pressures" of natural selection that other animals are. If we didn't have society, individuals who are self-destructive would die off or would otherwise not reproduce. This would eventually shift the general population in favor of those who are "self-preserving." This is the kind of thing addressed by Social Darwinism: if one can't "make it," (for whatever reason), that person is eliminated from the general population.

Will such behavior eventually kill them? No. They will, somehow, be "taken care of." So, even though you say you are of "average intelligence," you're doing the right thing by not being self-destructive.

[stormgale]

natural selection is already happening if you don't realize it.....what do you think that "YOLO" trend acted as? dumb people killing themselves for fun......I see that as natural selection.

[Cal King]

Yes, it is possible. They may overdose and die or they may drive under the influence of drugs and have an accident. Or the drugs can fry their brains, and they won't have much of a future. There is also the possibility that when they are looking at their cell phones while they walk, they would get hit with a brick on the head by a thief from behind. People forget that we are still subject to natural selection all of the time, even though we live in a concrete jungle. Of course, intelligent people can die too, if they cannot outrun a thief for example.

[Gray Bold]

Natural selection only affects those who reproduce. Hopefully, that won't happen with them. A very controversial book was written about such a possible scenario. The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life is a 1994 book by American psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein (who died before the book was released) and American political scientist Charles Murray. Its central argument is that human intelligence is substantially influenced by both inherited and environmental factors and is a better predictor of many personal dynamics, including financial income, job performance, chance of unwanted pregnancy, and involvement in crime than are an individual's parental socioeconomic status, or education level. The book also argues that those with high intelligence, the "cognitive elite", are becoming separated from those of average and below-average intelligence, and that this is a dangerous social trend with the United States moving toward a more divided society similar to that in Latin America.

[SeeInElle]

Being an alcoholic or a drug addict is not being stupid. I am a drug addict and I am also a member of American MENSA. I have 5 years clean. My IQ test results put me at >99.9% yet for years I did drugs everyday, all day, because drug addiction and alcoholism are disease.

Natural Selection has already taken place where drug addicts and alcoholics are concerned. There are VERY FEW alcoholics in Asian Societies because Alcohol was introduced there a LONG time before it was introduced in European and African cultures. About 1-2% of Asians are alcoholics. 10-15% of European and Africans are. about 40% of Native Americans are because they were only introduced to alcohol 300ish years ago. In the past, there was no treatment for alcoholism/addiction so people that suffered from this disease simply died without having children....NOW there are treatment and these people have children, regardless of if they are in recovery or not. This is because of free medical care given to people that cannot afford it. In the past, if you were an alcoholic and kept drinking during pregnancy you very well may lose the baby, or the baby could be born with severe defects that shortened life. So the line would eventually stop. Now, that is not the case (most of the time) using addicts will go to rehab or (because of a better legal system) will go to jail and they will not use the majority of the time they are pregnant. Yes, it still happens but not as much as it used to.

So the line continues and we make more and more people with this disease, and in the end only about 10% of addicts/alcoholics (and that is a generous estimate) will ever get and stay clean/sober.

I, for one, will NEVER have a child (may adopt one day but don't get me started on that rant) because it is irresponsible. I have a deadly disease and I will more than likely pass it on to a child. There wis a GOOD chance. I see no point in condemning someone else to this life. Just to clarify, if you are the child of an addict/alcoholic and NOT one yourself, good for you, glad you won the genetic lottery.

There is actually an organization that will pay an addict/alcoholic $400 to get sterilized. Not a bad idea, because people in active addiction (especially drugs and not alcohol) think $400 is a lot of money and will gladly take it.