RE: Is the human race with modern medecine not evolving downward?

I see the example that Dave presents analogous to thermodynamics. By not
interfering medically, the weak will [generally] not survive into adulthood
and, one would think, the incidence of any inheritable disease would be less
than it is now, with medial intervention. This could be represented
thermodynamically by a "closed system."

A thermodynamically "open system" would involve medical intervention.
Medical intervention might create an unstable condition if it carried on too
long. For example, we can isolate people from, and inoculate people against
the flu bug every year but I would think that we will end up with a
population that becomes increasingly vulnerable to the influenza virus.
Some of this is already happening in hospitals where a virus (super bug) can
become immune to pretty well any antibiotic.

I, too, suffered from asthma as a child, but somehow outgrew it. However,
I'm also red-green colour blind and it used to frustrate me to no end when I
saw our children pick red raspberries from our raspberry canes while I would
be chomping on sour, unripe berries. Maybe, in a gathering society, I would
not have fared well or might not have survived long enough to pass my X
chromosome deficiency on to future generations.

If my comparison to thermodynamics is off-base, I'm sure somebody will set
me straight. Just don't use red and green fonts to differentiate between
various comments! :-)

Chuck Vandergraaf

-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On
Behalf Of Dave Wallace
Sent: Saturday, March 25, 2006 2:33 PM
To: Dawsonzhu@aol.com
Cc: asa@lists.calvin.edu
Subject: Is the human race with modern medecine not evolving downward?

Thank you Wayne That was helpful although to me more in the side effects
than in your main point

Dawsonzhu@aol.com wrote:
> One thing is that you're confusing the meaning of descent (expressed
> as a direction), and descent (expressed as ancestry), as already pointed
> out.
Could someone on the list please explain to me why at least for humans,
descent is not true in both senses. Both modern medicine and things
like controlled environments seem to be allowing individuals to survive
to have children that in the past would not have occurred. I realize
that controlled environments are a mixed blessing, but at least having
heat when the temperature is -30 out, does help lung conditions. . For
example I have serious asthma and have had so since at least 5 years of
age. In my senior year of high school we were at emerg at least two
nights of most weeks getting adrenaline shots and that was when my
atomizer, pills and allergy shots failed to control things. Between
ages of 16 and 23 I was determined not to have children and still at
times wonder if I did right when I see allergies in my children and
grandchildren.

Also in Canada at least some doctors used to actively terminate infants
with problems. My grandfather told the story of expressing concern
about deformed children and his doctor said to trust him and that such a
child would not live. There was a small grave in the back part of the
lot of one of my grandparents homes. Also at the end of the summer just
prior to attending UniWat engineering I had asthma to the point I would
pass out from lack of oxygen. Our (Christian?) doctor gave me a fairly
big dose of demerol. I was hospitalized for at least ten days and our
doctor was never allowed to see me. All my friends who were just
entering second year nursing came and told me never to see him again
since someone with active asthma should never be given demerol, morphine
etc. If one read between the lines my doctor in Waterloo at University
said exactly the same thing. Most of the time I beleive this was a case
of attempted retroactive abortion, sometimes I can be more charitable
and attribute it to the uppers and downers that our doctor was addicted
to and also got some of his patients on. When the same doctor had
removed my tonsils he found that I was very allergic to demerol so he
seems without excuse. He told my parents it was a mistake, I never saw
his again.

Dave Wallace
Received on Sat Mar 25 16:39:36 2006