The Wandering Ape

The average adult spends between 50 and 70 percent of their life sitting, and few spend the rest of that time doing any physical activity. If we were to get into a time machine to observe our ancestors from about ten thousand years ago, we could see that their customs were exactly the opposite. They spent more than 70 percent of their time active.  Many of the characteristics and behaviors that made us more fit in the past now make us maladapted, because the environment in which the human genus emerged has changed so much, and so quickly that it is remarkable that we can continue to live as we do. The irony is that the greatest agent of change in our environment is ourselves. Let's get back in the time machine and go back 1.5 million years. We are in Africa, in a region of grasslands and isolated patches of trees. It is a tropical region, the climate is warm, and the sun rarely gives us a break by hiding behind a cloud. As good time travelers, we have brought sunscreen, bug spray, ...

Humans exhibit a remarkable degree of diversity. From a genetic standpoint, modern humans are a mosaic of shared traits. Each individual possesses some, but not necessarily all, of these features. This combination creates a breathtaking spectrum of human variation, as vibrant and diverse as a rainbow. Imagine sitting in a bustling square of a cosmopolitan city. As you observe the passersby, you'll be struck by the bewildering variety of facial features, hair textures and colors, and skin tones. This incredible diversity is a testament to the remarkable adaptability of our species. Evolution has sculpted our species to thrive in a constantly changing world. It has equipped us to adapt to the unique ecosystems we inhabited, both ancestral and newly encountered through migration.  This adaptability, a hallmark of Homo sapiens, proved to be a critical advantage compared to other human species that went extinct about 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals, for example, possessed only a fraction...