The ones with gumption left.
As did the ones who wanted to survive the potato famine. A clear self selection to "improve their chances of physical survival."
“The ones with gumption left.
As did the ones who wanted to survive the potato famine. A clear self selection to “improve their chances of physical survival.””
Of course, they made INTELLECTUAL decisions to improve our survival. We all do. I brush my teeth, I eat my vegetables, I put on my seat belt, I avoid dangerous neighborhood.
I DON’T, however, grow scales or titanium nails or the ability to digest dirt, however advantageous that may be.
You are confusing intellectual choices with physical evolution.
“The ones with gumption left.”
I’ll go out on a limb and say a lot of those who left did not leave because of gumption. Many were wives and children who had little say in the matter. There were indentured servants, and slaves, and convicts, and businesspeople who were sent here by their companies, etc.
Of course there were those who came to better themselves, no doubt about it.
You’d think we’d have evolved some gills, though, so we didn’t drown on the cross Atlantic voyage.
Which leads me to a point about evolutionary theory. Why is it so advantageous to, say, become an lung breather than a gill breather? Water is 75% of the earths surface, etc. Would it not be to our advantage to stay in the water? We couldn’t drown. Plenty of food. No sunburn.
Why is it an advantage to walk instead of fly? Why is it an advantage to have our digestive system instead of a crop? Why is it an advantage to have our type of eyes rather than the eyes of a fly? Hooves instead of feet would be much less prone to injury, and so on.
It seems to me, “lower” life forms have many advantages over me, and I don’t think it was so wise of us to drop them all on our supposed way up.