this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2026
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Humans evolved to pay close attention to danger, but today that instinct is being overwhelmed by an endless supply of bad news from around the world. Researchers say the answer isn’t to stop following current events—it’s to build healthier habits around how, when, and where we get our news.

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[–] dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Evolution did as much design as my socks design themselves to stay in their drawer. Evolution doesn't design, it works with what it has and nothing else. It doesn't even optimize because optimization requires choosing between options with intent. Evolution has zero intentions. Evolution creates un-"optimized" things that go extinct all the time, but it's not because it "failed" at designing because that implies it "tried" to design, but because it's not a designer, it can't design. No design made fish have legs. No design gave elephants their tusks and no design gave flies their wings. Evolution won't 'design' new vertebrae segments, but they still might happen---it just won't be because of any design.

[–] Jason2357@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Natural selection is actually technically an optimisation algorithm. Its just a kind of crappy one that only ever finds local maximas because it can't traverse valleys (the thing just dies). So we end up with optical receptors on the wrong side of our retina. Ooof.

[–] jdr@lemmy.ml 1 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Neanderthals evolved to traverse valleys just fine

[–] Jason2357@lemmy.ca 1 points 46 minutes ago

I don't mean literal valleys.

[–] MohamedMoney@feddit.org 1 points 21 hours ago

And see where that got them!