Today’s thought piece.
Keep in mind that evolution doesn’t “care” about anything; organisms that survive natural selection (or environmental filtering, another term someone used) do so by reproducing, and once they’ve done that, it doesn’t matter what happens in their “old age.”
The Atlantic, Adina Wise, 18 Oct 2026: The Evolution of the Human Brain Set It Up for Failure, subtitled “The genetic changes that made the human brain may have made us uniquely vulnerable to Alzheimer’s.”
Apes don’t develop Alzheimer’s—at least, not like we do. Although we share a hefty amount of our DNA with our closest primate relatives, humans are uniquely at risk of developing the disease that can erode our sense of who we are.
When I make the diagnosis in my neurology clinic, I tell patients and family members that in most cases, doctors can’t point to a single, definitive cause of the illness. Age, genetics, health, lifestyle factors, and environmental triggers all play a role. But a growing body of research offers another dimension: We can lose our sense of self precisely because our species evolved to have one. In recent years, scientists have been comparing the brains of humans with those of other, closely related species, and teasing out how the genetics, structure, and molecular mechanisms differ. What they’re finding is that the same characteristics that support our unparalleled cognitive abilities make us susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.
The essay goes on, rather technically. The gist, which I think is rather mind-blowing, is the middle sentence in the second paragraph above. “We can lose our sense of self precisely because our species evolved to have one.” Also, a key theme, for those who don’t “believe” in evolution, is the close genetic relationships humans have with related species of apes. Here’s a later paragraph:
Our bodies are no strangers to evolutionary trade-offs. Homo sapiens’ vertical spine leaves us vulnerable to herniated discs; our pelvis, narrowed by bipedalism, makes childbirth difficult. We manage these compromises as best we can. But if an evolutionary give-and-take implicates our organ of thought and reason, accepting the compromise is harder.
Whole books have been written, and I’m guessing university courses have been designed, about such items. Which undermine the notion of “intelligent design,” of course. Evolution works by building upon what it already exists, not designing from scratch.
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And then the kibble.
This is the funniest, most ironic. I don’t need to spell this out.
- Washington Post, today: Hegseth wanted Eisenhower’s globe for his office. His staff broke it.
- Subtitled “Photos obtained by The Post show a gash in the World War II-era artifact that resulted from a botched relocation attempt inside the Pentagon.”
- JMG, from Media Matter, today: MAGA Host: Witchcraft Is Real, Satan Loves Halloween
- No, it’s not.
- JMG, via Religion News Service, today: Survey: Majority Of Evangelicals Don’t Value Empathy
- “New survey: 83% of nonreligious Americans see empathy as a core moral value, compared to just 42% of white evangelicals.”
- Because, as I’ve been saying, evangelicals are basically tribalists.
- Right Wing Watch, Kyle Mantyla, 21 Oct 2026: Rob McCoy Keeps Spreading False Christian Nationalist History
- I’m beginning to wonder if this is particular to fundamentalists religions. Doesn’t everyone, every group or tribe or nation, filter history to put themselves in their own best light? But serious historians generally provide correctives. Not yet, for the modern Christian nationalists.
