Wonderful essay, but when you write, “There’s no Evolution Fairy who can watch the gene pool and say, “Hm, that gene seems to be spreading rapidly—I should distribute it to everyone”, aren’t you leaving out the classic evolution fairy, Cupid?
Mate attractiveness is not usually random, and Cupid does seem to usually use some kind of fitness testing. I grant fully that a potential mate may not recognize the newly evolved trait as an advantage, but potential mates usually can perceive secondary indicators such as better health, higher group status, more active pursuit of mating, or a Mercedes.
Wonderful essay, but when you write, “There’s no Evolution Fairy who can watch the gene pool and say, “Hm, that gene seems to be spreading rapidly—I should distribute it to everyone”, aren’t you leaving out the classic evolution fairy, Cupid? Mate attractiveness is not usually random, and Cupid does seem to usually use some kind of fitness testing. I grant fully that a potential mate may not recognize the newly evolved trait as an advantage, but potential mates usually can perceive secondary indicators such as better health, higher group status, more active pursuit of mating, or a Mercedes.
Or am I missing something?