Well, this is an interesting one that goes against all the common theories. It is often suggested that people are getting smarter over time as they have to access more of their brain, in better ways due to education and all that.

Now a scientist comes across and suggests that we have been getting thicker for maybe longer than 2000 years!

Guardian article.

Actual papers: one and two.

I havent read the papers but one of the suggestions was that in times gone past being stupid meant that you were more likely to get killed and your children being unborn.

Now, you get helping hands making you survive and bring up stupid kids., which then survive due to help from others... leaving even more stupid people around.

This is something I have commented on the past - especially the idea of "devolution" - what if over time instead of improving, we would be getting worse?

Today I have come across a Slashdot story in a similar vein:

The history of evolutionary studies has been dogged by the almost irresistible idea that evolution leads to greater complexity, to animals that are more advanced than their predecessor, yet the existence of the Boskops argues otherwise — that humans with big brains, and perhaps great intelligence, occupied a substantial piece of southern Africa in the not very distant past, and that they eventually gave way to smaller-brained, possibly less advanced Homo sapiens — that is, ourselves.

Their average iq has been estimated at 149 (the current average is 100)

Okay, so I am currently reading a book called 'Evolution and Healing' by Randolph Nesse and George Williams.

I always read the Preface first.

SO they begin by talking about the fact that Ageing has an evolutionary explanation. And they question why anxiety does not have a similiar explanation as well as disorders like Schizophrenia.

Okay so moving on from the Preface, Chapter 1 has the heading 'The Mystery Of Disease'.

And the first paragraph starts:

Why, in a body of such exquisite design, are there thousands flaws and frailties that make us vulnerable to disease?

The second sentence says:

If evolution by natural selection can shape sophisticated mechanisms such as the eye, heart, and brain, why hasn't it shaped ways to prevent near sightedness, heart attacks, and Alzheimer's disease?

So...

a) My first thoughts was that because the body is vulnerable to disease, does that make give it flaws? What do you think?

b) What are the religious views on vulnerability to disease?

c) To what extent do we believe in evolution?

As a reminder: Evolution is:

In biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next.

Wikipedia has more on Evolution here

d) Why can we not believe in Evolution? What is wrong with believing in the fact that Allah swt is created Evolution and see it as another miracle, another amazing creation of His (swt)?

I'm sorry, if I've overlapped on other forum topics.