Why oh why is it...?

Question

that if survival of the fittest is true, why are there soooo many stupid people???

I believe we have evolved, but...

I never said survival of the fittest came from Darwin, I know it didn't, I was just trying to make the point that I am not debating science, just making a joke.

Answer 1

just give it time, they'll kill themselves off sooner or later.

Answer 2

The term "survival of the fittest" wasn't coined by Charles Darwin, but by Herbert Spencer who sought to apply evolutionary principles to a human social hierarchy which basically resulted in what we call "social darwinism." Darwin (or Darwin's editors) actually did comment favorably on the catchiness of Spencer's overly simplistic and misapplied phrase, but not until something like the sixth edition of "Origin." Social darwinism isn't accepted in the same way that natural selection is by the scientific community. The most common use of this concept occurs often in social settings to justify the state of those in poverty, or those who are educationally disadvantaged; it is often used to justify class hierarchies and inequity in policy and social programs based on a flawed assumption that somehow "darwinian" concepts of natural selection are relevant on a social level. It's easier for some people to think that some people are in horrible situations because they are less "fit" evolutionarily than more priveleged elites.

Answer 3

Survival of the fittest WAS a quote of Darwin's, which was used by the elite of the day to descriminate against the lower classes

Answer 4

Survival of the fittest is not true.

Darwin never said this nor applied it to evolution. Amazing, huh. Reproductive success is based on the number of offspring you have, so the more babies you make the more chance you have of your genes making it longer. Humans are weird in this aspect because the child is dependent on the parent for so long. So, baby making needs to be balanced with childcare. Oddly, most well educated people that I know do not have large families while “stupid” people I know have kids and have them often.

Plus, evolution doesn’t really know our value system, nor does evolution have direction. So, its basically up to people to make better selection in mate choice plus educate their children.

Answer 5

Because educated people are less likely to have as many children as people who are uneducated. People with some sort of a college degree are more likely to put off having children. While on the other hand, stupid people multiply like rabbits, that's why there are so many of them.

Answer 6

stupid is as stupid does. there' s room for everyone and lots of help just for the asking. people take care of each other and our survival is because of this trait. also, stupid people can have smart offspring so don't be too quick to judge.

Answer 7

Stupid people are also the result of evolution.It is easier for them to do boring jobs and to obey orders,so they are very well adapted to survive in society.