Attempts to completely eradicate threats like bacteria, pests, or cancer cells often fail. This is because the few resistant survivors left behind multiply without competition, creating a stronger enemy. A better strategy is to manage the threat by leaving weaker versions alive to compete with the resistant ones.
When human engineers failed to design a required satellite antenna, NASA used "evolutionary computation." This AI subfield simulates evolution by "breeding" parent programs and selecting for fitness over many generations. The process evolved a bizarre but highly effective antenna that outperformed all human designs.
Human brains evolved to count whole things, not manipulate abstract percentages. When communicating risk, convert statistics into natural frequencies (e.g., "2 people out of 100" instead of "2%"). This simple reframing can boost accuracy in medical diagnoses from 8% to 46%, proving it's a format problem, not a brain problem.
Behaviors like the "endowment effect"—overvaluing what we own—are not random cognitive glitches. They are ancient, functional instincts that aided survival. Experiments show we are more reluctant to trade items with evolutionary importance (food) than those without (toys), suggesting our brains are just running on "yesterday's operating system."
Sociologist Herbert Spencer, not Charles Darwin, coined "survival of the fittest" to justify social hierarchy. Evolutionary biologist Joseph Graves Jr. argues that rigid hierarchies, while possibly adaptive in ancestral environments, are now a dangerous mismatch in the modern world. Maintaining systems of social injustice is counter-productive to our species' long-term success.
The conflict between evolution and religion is not universal but is particularly strong in the U.S. due to a history of biblical literalism. This false divide is harmful, especially for Black and brown students from religious backgrounds. By not forcing a choice between community and science, educators can foster greater scientific participation.