Human
Humans are evolution's most extreme niche constructors - the species that changed the planet and then evolved in response to the changes.
Humans are evolution's most extreme niche constructors - the species that changed the planet and then evolved in response to the changes. Agriculture didn't just provide food; it created selection pressure. Lactose tolerance evolved in dairy-farming populations. Cooking may have enabled brain expansion by providing more calories with less digestive investment - humans traded gut size for neural tissue. We have brains seven times larger than expected for a mammal our size (encephalization quotient of ~7), compensated by extended childhood, high-quality diets, and reduced digestive capacity.
But the feedback loop goes further. Cultural niche construction - clothing, shelter, fire - allowed colonization of Arctic environments without evolving thick fur. Inuit populations remain physiologically similar to tropical humans despite 10,000+ years in extreme cold. The environment shapes organisms, but humans uniquely shape their environments, which then shape their evolution. This bidirectional engineering has no biological precedent.
The business lesson: companies that succeed long-term don't just adapt to markets - they construct markets that favor their specific capabilities, then evolve those capabilities in response to the markets they created. Amazon didn't adapt to retail; it constructed digital retail infrastructure that favored its particular competencies.
Notable Traits of Human
- No controlled long-term CR trials possible
- Observational data from Okinawa, Biosphere 2, CALERIE study
- CALERIE showed metabolic benefits from 2-year CR
- Cultural niche construction
- Gene-culture coevolution
- Technological environment modification
- Most extensive niche constructors on Earth
- EQ ~7 (brain 7x larger than expected)
- Brain ~2% of body mass but uses ~20% of metabolic energy
- Extended childhood for brain development
Human Appears in 3 Chapters
Human caloric restriction effects are unknown from controlled long-term trials, but observational data from Okinawa centenarians, Biosphere 2, and the CALERIE study suggest beneficial effects from moderate caloric restriction.
Explore caloric restriction research →Humans are the most extreme niche constructors. Agriculture, urbanization, and technology altered selection pressures, with lactose tolerance evolving in dairy-farming populations and cooking potentially enabling brain expansion.
Discover niche construction dynamics →Human encephalization quotient of ~7 means brains 7x larger than expected. This required compensatory adaptations: extended childhood, high-quality cooked diet, and reduced gut size trading digestive capacity for neural tissue.
Learn about scaling and brain allometry →