Why should natural selection choose one organism to survive and reproduce and not another?
12 comments
natural selection doesn't "choose", that's why it's called natural selection, because it happens naturally. Organisms that are well suited to their environment are more likely to survive to breed then those that are less well suited to their environment. That's all natural selection means, it's not very complicated.
There is no "should" or "choose" about it.
Most species that have ever existed could adapt up to a certain point, then ran into a dead end, and became extinct.
We speak of natural selection "choosing" because as humans, we tend to anthropomorphize. Those of us who are intelligent realize that this is simply a type of mental shorthand, and that the concepts we've given human characteristics to don't actually have them.
Gawdammit, people who talk about "natural selection" like it's some kind of deity really piss me off. It is a process, a process, man! And the answer is this: Because corpses, my friend, don't breed. I hope.
Because the one that survived was:
a) Best suited to its environment / able to adapt to it new environment.
b) Lucky.
@Crimson Lizard
You don't know the half of it.
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Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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