Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Lousy Sex: The Purpose of the Past

"For millenia, evolution has been shaping human genes for a single purpose - reproduction. Those who didn't measure up didn't reproduce. Evolution is a harsh mistress. Genes that helped animals make more of themselves survived. 
"At the moment of conception each of us is given that legacy - helices full of genes as old as life itself. Genes that brought fish from the dark into the light, genes that made lizards strong, genes that allowed apes to stand up, genes that crushed others and forged a living from their remains, genes that will write poetry and explore constellations, genes that will stare and the stars and wonder, and genes to make us care about all of it. A genomeful of genes."

excerpted from:
Lousy Sex: Creating Self in an Infectious World
by Gerald N. Callahan
University Press of Colorado, 2013