153

A bit of a weird question: Can modern medicine be a threat to humanity long-term by greatly reducing effects of natural selection? (lemmy.sdf.org)

submitted 5 months ago by user224@lemmy.sdf.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

105 comments fedilink hide all child comments

OK, I hope my question doesn't get misunderstood, I can see how that could happen.
Just a product of overthinking.

Idea is that we can live fairly easily even with some diseases/disorders which could be-life threatening. Many of these are hereditary.
Since modern medicine increases our survival capabilities, the "weaker" individuals can also survive and have offsprings that could potentially inherit these weaknesses, and as this continues it could perhaps leave nearly all people suffering from such conditions further into future.

Does that sound like a realistic scenario? (Assuming we don't destroy ourselves along with the environment first...)

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] BakerBagel@midwest.social 17 points 5 months ago

It would be if we suddenly didn't have access to modern medicine for some reason. Like say a city under seige with power cut iff to hospitals

[+] someguy3@lemmy.ca -10 points 5 months ago

A threat to a handful of women who happen to be pregnant. Not to humanity as a whole.

[-] BakerBagel@midwest.social 8 points 5 months ago

A very cavalier take until it's your wife/sister/friend that dies because she cant get to a maternity ward in time. As it stands, humanity will carry on if society were to collapse next week. But if we cant safely deliver babies without modern medicine, we are in aerious trouble.

[-] Scipitie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 months ago

But that's not what OP asked / wanted to dicuss? The person you're attacking simply answered the original question:

"would it be a danger to the whole of humanity or our evolutionary progress?"

While I think the data alignes with your observation and your interpretation of the risks are on point it deviates from the point the person you answered to.

[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca -2 points 5 months ago

humanity /hyoo͞-măn′ĭ-tē/ noun

Humans considered as a group; the human race.

Humanity is not individuals. It's humanity as a whole.

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 7 points 5 months ago

A threat to humans to live without access to medicine which makes humanity more fragile and less adaptable.

this post was submitted on 18 May 2024

153 points (86.6% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26673 readers

1421 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics.

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.