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Question 1

Drawing on material presented in class, use the case of human birth to illustrate (i) can create constraints on the optimality of a design), making sure to both describe the phenomenon and explain its relevance to the issue of constraints on optimality

Answer 1

• Phenomenon being bipedalism; creates constraints of making birth more difficult
• Large brain size
• The muscles have to work harder to balance walking with bipedalism
• Larger brains—need wider pelvis’
• Creates constraint on how wide pelvis would be. If it’s too wide, woman cannot walk efficiently. If it’s too small, baby can’t come out

Question 2

Drawing on material presented in class, use the case of human birth to illustrate (ii.) can also favor the evolution of novel adaptations), making sure to both describe the phenomenon and explain its relevance to the issue of the evolution of workarounds.

Answer 2

• Babies are born prematurely so their heads aren’t too big but they require more investment.
• Relaxants are released to make it easier

Question 3

In popular media, evolution is often inappropriately described using terms that imply
teleology, that is, people erroneously suggest that evolutionary processes are directed toward a predetermined goal (a pattern consistent with many religious beliefs that assign a unique place to our species in the pantheon of life). Explain how the combination of constraints on optimality and the evolution of workarounds proves that evolution is not a teleological process

Answer 3

• There’s always a compromise—it’s always at the expense of something else. There’s adaptations to compensate for constraints but they’re not ideal or optimal
• Pelvis’ are still not wide enough