| Hi Loser.
This is my first post, so let me know how I do!
Evolution is by now a very old theory, but is still itself evolving. We learn more all the time, and assumptions that we make today are often disproved tomorrow.
For example, it was a natural conclusion that Human evolution had slowed down, but it was recently announced that in fact there is now much greater genetic diversity in the worlds population than expected - evolution is happening about 100 times faster than we thought it was!
As for hair-loss, this is still a largly unanswered question. Actually, that's probably not an accurate statement; in truth there are many answers, just nothing definitive.
For a long time the reigning theory was that we lost our fur to aid heat loss in warmer climates, but this would be at least balanced by the disadvantage of having our skin exposed to direct sun.
A more recent theory (Link posted in next post) is that we lost our hair to help fight bugs. Lice and other biting insects can be a major problem, which is why our still-hairy primate cousins place so much importance on social grooming. Indeed, it was reported this week that some monkeys actually trade grooming for sex!!
I think evolution is a very solid idea that's not likely to ever go away, but I also think we have a long way to go before we fully understand it. On its own, it just doesn't fully enough answer all of the questions. |