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How Evolution by Natural Selection Could Produce a Human Race of Idiots
An exploration of how evolution by natural selection could produce a human race of idiots, featuring some of Dr. Molly Morris’s current research on how mate preferences are important in evolution, as well as her hypotheses on why the human brain has been getting smaller over the past 20,000 years.
About the film
Private Joe Bowers (Wilson), the definition of “average American”, is selected by the Pentagon to be the guinea pig for a top-secret hibernation program, set 545 years in the future. He discovers a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he’s easily the most intelligent person alive.
About the speaker
A short bio from Dr. Molly R. Morris of Ohio University’s Department of Biological Sciences:
My research interests are in sexual selection, variation in female mate preferences, and the evolution of alternative reproductive strategies. In my laboratory, we are interested in the evolutionary processes that both constrain and drive biological diversity. We examine the evolution of diversity both within and across species of Xiphophorus fishes. These small livebearing fish, native to freshwater streams in Mexico, present a diversity of behaviors and morphologies that are ideal for examining the evolution of behavioral plasticity, female mate preferences, nutritional programming, maternal effects, and the evolution of alternative reproductive strategies. We observe behavior in the field as well as in the laboratory, incorporating molecular techniques to conduct paternity analyses and examine gene expression profiles.
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Science on Screen® is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Science on Screen program pairs films with a short talk with a scientist or technology expert. The free Science on Screen events are fun and engaging, offering dynamic speakers an unexpected jumping point to teach their field of expertise in a way that is accessible to a diverse audience.
Free admission to this event is provided by Arts for OHIO.
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84 MIN
