In the play “Lucy,” an emotionally distant anthropologist (Lisa Emery) decides that her severely autistic daughter Lucy (Lucy DeVito) is not sick. Instead, says the hermit scientist, she is the future: Lucy’s lack of connection to other human beings is actually an evolutionary leap forward. The rest of us? Obsolete—mental health fossils.
Our anthropologist supposes that hypersociality has created a poisonous overgrowth of society curable only by turning inward, and that autism (the diagnosis of which has increased tenfold) arose to accomplish that.
Thanks for the science, but she’s wrong.
Even if the assumptions are correct, her evolutionary hypothesis doesn’t work: Mutations don’t have a purpose; natural selection works on individuals and not whole species; the rise in autism, if it’s even real, has happened in just the last 20 years. Unlike the evolutionary “leaps” the anthropologist cites, autism involves many genes, and would take even more generations to spread if it were advantageous. And most of all, there’s the sex. As one character actually points out, it’s only an adaptation if it makes you have more kids, so a literal human connection is essential.
While science-based theater is potentially more profound and illuminating than, say, science-based cosmetics, Damien Atkins’s “Lucy” doesn’t get much past putting on scienceface. Even so, the basic idea is great. It IS possible that autism could be the next stage in evolution. As long as there is variation, it’s heritable, and it leads to differential reproductive success—that is to say, if slightly-autistic geeks get more play—then natural selection may increase the frequency of autism in the future.
And I’m not only saying this because DISCOVER is a prop on the scientist’s coffee table.
Lucy, the current offering from the E.S.T. and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Science & Technology Project, is showing through November 18 at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in Manhattan.
November 6th, 2007 at 3:58 am
Perhaps in the middle to far future, technology will have such a great influence on society and in such a way that turning inward would in fact be the most beneficial thing for a human to do. It’s also concievable that technology could handle the reproductive aspect to some degree so that humans don’t actually have to form connections anymore. Just look at online dating!
November 7th, 2007 at 10:27 am
When I read the tag-line of this article I got shivers up my spine, as I’ve had this theory… Look at the telescoping nature of evolution, it took billions of years for life to emerge as single celled organisms. Then hundreds of millions of years to the first sea-life, then tens of millions of years for life to emerge onto land then millions of years through amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and on up to hominids which have become “modern” through tens of thousands of years. It seems only natural to me that evolution will continue to occur in shorter periods until there’s a crescendo, possibly within a few generations or possibly it’s already upon us. But I fully believe this will mean evolution on individual basis’, which isn’t even evolution in the classic sense but I have no doubt that that is how it will occur. Evolution will no longer be the mechanism of the persistence of life, but the fulfillment of life, or rather the realization of the potential of life, which in my mind would be transendence of the masses and actualization of the individual which will transcend life and reality as we know it, and at the same time be something far more wonderful and uncomprehensible to those who don’t evolve.
November 7th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I find the comment questioning the rise in the number of autism cases to be quite offensive. The author needs to do more research. My son is autistic and believe me, I wish more than anything in this world that he did not have it. We need more people in the scientific community (researchers, doctors, and writers who specialize in science) to get their heads out of the sand before it’s too late. We need answers. Why is this happening to our kids? What can be done about stopping it?
November 11th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
this theory reminds me somewhat of the book childhood’s end. It does spin it in a more sinister fashion, though.
November 13th, 2007 at 2:21 am
This causes me to entertain an amusing notion. Maybe “reproductive success” will no longer be the defining factor of the survival of the human species. The effects of overpopulation could possibly destroy the earth and the existence of humans altogether. Therefore, what if there are gene mutations occurring, such as one that causes autism, that would help to control the population by making relationships/reproduction LESS likely? I’m no scientist, but it certainly begs the question to me. Just brainstorming.
November 14th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
No one questions the current prevalence of autism – it’s all around. The uncertain part (maybe necessarily uncertain) is to what extent it has gone undiagnosed in the past. Luckily, tracking down the history is not the only way to track down the cause.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Are we so sure that that this rise in autism isn’t a triggering of already-dormant genes, rather than mutations? suppose the development of autism is triggered by the presence of various enviromental chemicals characteristic of dense populations of organisms, which are absorbed by the fetus in utero,affecting the development of the human mind. The presence of the compound has but to reach a threshhold, and the brain develops in such a way as to limit the organisms reproduction while still allowing it to be fairly survivable.
This could be a long present adaptation meant to allow a population to self-limit. any higher animal could benefit from some of its individuals becoming “unresponsive” to others in a closed environment for a generation or two(say an island or an oasis or whatever), until the population dwindles to sustainable levels for that area, thereby lowering the levels of the environmental factors that initially caused the autism explosion. Obviously there would have to be some individuals born with enough social capability to reproduce, hence the “degrees” of autism such as aspergers, high-functioning, etc. The conclusion would be that the rise in autism is the result of more pregnant women living in densely populated areas, orthat the presence of that environmental factor has reached that threshhold by some other cause.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
No, I am not sure. It was simply another theory. Thank you for doing me the honor of entertaining my little idea intelligently, though, unlike some people. I am part of the “spectrum” I mentioned above and as such have a less than impartial interest in the subject, and you’re right, it does feel good to rationalize why one would be this way. As a teen I entertained the fantastical idea that autism was a manifestation of ancestral neanderthal traits, (autism is most commonly found in Europeans) an idea almost as drama-worthy as the one in ‘Lucy’, but again, more ’science-face’ than science.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Yes, but what would that strange, as-yet unidentified chemical BE? Before we search for hypotheses that support the claim made in this loosely-based-on-fact play, we need to find out more about autism itself. And – is it really viable that there would be a special chemical that triggered it based on population density?
I know it feels good to tell yourself that autism happens for a reason, and that it’s really something more than some kind of mutation. But, if we are to do so, we need to first look at all the other, inglorious, theories that are much more realistic.
November 18th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Now that you mention it, it does resemble Childhood’s End… That book used to give me nightmares as a child, and the fact that real life is looking more similar to it is doing nothing for my peace of mind. Then again, I suppose that’s just what I get for reading so many science fiction books. And being mildy paranoid.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:11 am
We live in an increasingly knowledge based society, it no longer matters if you are an asocial 98 pound weakling instead of a caveman when it comes to daily survival. Look at Bill Gates. Poster child for Aspergers Syndrome (autism lite) he’s got the money, the beautiful wife and the mansion, and he did it using his brains. ‘Success’ hasn’t been redefined, ‘power’ has.
November 27th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Some leading doctors have shown evidences that 60 to 70 percent of autist children were the result of immunizations/vaccinations. The rapid increase in their numbers coincide with more parents taking their babies to be vaccinated, especially in 3rd world nations where vaccinations are made compulsory in some countries. As more families reach middle and upper-income status, they can now afford more ‘modern’ medical care and thus the rise of fully vaccinated children… and thus the rise of hyperactive children and autism. The best way to keep our children healthy is cleanliness. Research has indicated that the decrease of major diseases around the world are the results of better sanitation and hygiene.
February 8th, 2008 at 1:54 am
It’s not the vacines that are the problem it’s the mercury they use as a perservative within it. A heavy metal Mercury can effect the brain even in small doses and has diffrent effects on diffrent people. Some people just are less effected by it.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:01 am
It is not out of any biological necessity that evolution will favor autism (there are certainly other more logic less vulnerable means of evoliving into a more demographically controlled society). it is, like one reader said, A CALL for evolution on individual basis. Nowadays we are seeing increasing sensibilities among children, yes, tremendous vunerability to the environment. That to me is not evolution. But considering how those sensitive genes turned on, then there is a short term evolutionary response: humans need a more sensible brain to the environmental, nutritional, emotional irritants that past generations could withstand but that after mutations and mutations DNA damage, bad genetic signaling, deficiencies in parents, the only thing that could result from that were brains that carried the message: I WANT OUT! So yes, it is not a call for evolution, it is a call for consciousness. Hoping to get back to the basics of nutrition and clean air, which to me is pretty much the basis of later stages of fulfillment of life, or like this other guy said, the realization of the potential of life. And yes, this trascends the masses and catapults the individual to a much higher level of intelligence. Society is transforming.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:17 pm
What an enormous load of crap.
July 27th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
The premise of the piece above is that natural selection is the only selective process. Darwin offered three theories of evolution. Natural selection was only his first, and least subtle.
What drives autistic evolution is sexual selection operating through a matrifocal social structure additionally influenced by the environment through Lamarckian principles.
Please consider visiting http://www.neoteny.org/?cat=7 to review a unique and unorthodox theory for the cause of autism.
November 9th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
An interesting idea and similar to some thoughts I have had.
Looking back I have to say that my son showed indicative behaviours of Autism Spectrum Disorder from as little as 6 weeks although we didn’t know it at that time and it was only now we know and we think back that it seems so obvious. Therefore I don’t personally subscribe to all of these vacines/mercury causing Autism theories.
My son is who he is and I love him even more for it! I personally find it offensive if people suggest that this or that is wrong with my son because……
There is nothing wrong with him, he just thinks differently to us ‘normal’ people,
December 15th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I have aspergers syndrome and I for one would never want to be anything else. The person who mentioned about her son, do you know if he wants to be anything other than who he is?
‘My son is autistic and believe me, I wish more than anything in this world that he did not have it. ‘ is that your opinion or his? To me that is no worse than saying your son is an athiest and you want him converted to Islam/christianity.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Wow, how did I miss this? I made a similar blog post (although mine was much more on the wild speculation side of things!). How coincidental!
http://larianlequella.com/2008/11/autism-spectrum-and-human-evolution.shtml
January 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I’m not sure how old this article is, but your facts aren’t up to date with cutting edge science. Scientists have found the mechanisms that do control our evolution.. Random mutations occurring by chance is yesterdays thinking..
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S22/60/95O56/index.xml?section=topstories
May 8th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
To understand autism as a step in evolution, the focus should be on the evolutionary ADVANTAGES, not the DISADVANTAGES. Therefore, a mutation that leads to anti-social behavior would still not be advantageous to human evolution. However, increased intelligence would in fact be an advantage. I associate many forms of autism with higher than normal intelligence, albeit with social deficiencies. Autism may be one form of nature’s messy attempt to select higher intelligence. Perhaps autistic persons that have enough social skills to reproduce will be the next step in human evolution.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
If anything autism is a sort of de-evolution of humans as it makes them less apt to survive without societies aid. Evolution, by definition of its mechanisms, only works beneficially on behalf of an organism by making it more viable within the context of its environment. To put it more logically put a normal healthy person and an autistic person together in any complex situation and I assure you that the normal person will out last the autistic person and probably in short time to boot.
It’s been postulated that autism may be the result of over vaccination of young children. If this is so (which it may or may not be) then this is a sort of self imposed de-evolution. If this is so it can not even logically be called evolution of any kind bc this is not a naturalistic mechanism at work, it’s stupidity getting the best of us…
July 28th, 2009 at 2:58 am
Fascinating! I’ve noticed several references to Childhood’s End in the comments–so as long as we’re talking sci-fi, let’s throw in Darwin’s Radio. As I understand it, that book was informed by real science (along with plenty of wild speculation, yes) and it certainly raises some questions about how punctuated equilibrium might look to those who have the rare opportunity to see it in motion.
As to the notion of de-evolution, I’d like to remind everyone here that from an objective standpoint, de-evolution does not exist. There is only genetic change fueled by environmental change. We adapt in response to changes in our environment and it is only natural that some of those adaptations should turn out to be unsuccessful. Personally, I don’t see how “severe” autism is going to enhance anyone’s ability to thrive and reproduce. (No offense intended to anyone.) But look at someone with high-functioning autism, someone who possesses both the larger brain AND the ability to function at a reasonable level within society. Then (assuming that autism is even heritable in the first place) we end up with offspring that have tremendously improved memory, focus, and the abililty to make brilliant connections between seemingly unrelated subjects. Will we all be auties someday? Maybe not, but at the very least it’s beneficial for some percentage of the human population to have these kinds of specialized brains. Depending on their area(s) of specialization, autistic folks can become superior artists, programmers, analysts, architects, engineers, statisticians, designers, inventors, and more. How does that improve our viability as a species within this artificial environment that we’ve created? How doesn’t it, is what I’d like to know.
In case anyone cares, I’m an NT with autistic friends, family and students; and a firm supporter of the autistic cause.
August 19th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
“the rise in autism, if it’s even real, has happened in just the last 20 years.”
No, our culture has just developed more superficial standards due to the rise of Capitalism and people’s focus on television, the media, money and vast amounts of consumerism. When you live in a nation that’s strongly structured on selling a lifestyle to it’s people, naturally those who have difficulties buying into it, such as Autistics, stand out more so than ever.
A perfect example of what might be early Autistic thought would be in Existential writing and philosophy. It rose questions about Victorian era Romanticism and the rising power of the Industrial Revolution, ultimately mocking society and it’s embracing the absurdity of it not having any real meaning or purpose.
“If anything autism is a sort of de-evolution of humans as it makes them less apt to survive without societies aid.”
I really don’t see how Autism could be considered a sign of devolution. After thousands of years, there still exists tribes throughout our world which don’t rely on a highly superficial structure of living such as ours. Sit them in an upper class restaurant and try talking about fashion, politics, cars, careers and the latest hit song. Chances are they will think you are crazy, if not a complete threat.
“Perhaps autistic persons that have enough social skills to reproduce will be the next step in human evolution”
Social skills have little to do with the act of reproduction, we’re only convinced they are because of the culture we are born into. Nature documentaries have shown that mating rituals between animals are rather simplistic and straight to the point. No marriage, no prolonged dating, no discussion of emotions whatsoever.
If anything, Autism might be nature’s way of pointing out how much humans have overcomplicated things. It wouldn’t surprise me consider how much pollution and filth we’ve created within the past hundred years alone.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
There are two types of evolution. Evolution that benefits the individual and evolution that benefits the group at the expense of the individual.
In this case, it’s hard to see how the individual is benefited (less evolutionary fit) and it’s also hard to see how the group is benefited (more resources being poured into unproductive areas).
The only way out is to look for a third avenue of evolution: evolution that benefits the ecosystem at the expense of the species.
The massive population of human beings has a huge effect on the environment and the environmental services we all depend on. Perhaps autism is a way that nature is forcing us to scale back. A natural check.
Food for thought.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I think a key point that many are missing is that evolution takes an incredible amount of time. Perhaps people with autism today are prototypes, meaning nature has yet to “get it right”. There are diffent degrees of autism/ABS (low to high functioning), perhaps nature will one day get it right, where someone born with autism has the benefits of the condition without any of the negatives. I believe humankind is in a transitioning phase. Eventually someone will be born with autism/ABS that has the unique abilities such as a mind like a human calculator, but without the negative effects such as being unable to function in society. This person(s) will be able to reproduce successfully, because they can function as normal people, and probably with more success due to a greater mental capacity. Over the millennia, evolutionary mutations didn’t occur step by step in a straight forward manner. I don’t think the next step in human evolution will come simply, the first of their kind may be viewed as disabled or handicapped, and then over time eventually the right mutation will occur, where they are successful in society, and reproduce because the person may be considered smarter, or be able to do things that give him/her an advantage over their peers.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:31 am
ok first off adaptation has nothing to do with ones ability to reproduce. adaptation is the copacity to “cope” with changes in an environment. i however realize that autism may not do that in the most noticable way. it most definitely does just very discretely. i have been around several persons (kid and adults with autism) most of which are contrary to popular belief extremely intellegent. i watched a kid crack a trig problem i really didn’t get in no time flat. i watched a 53 year old autistic man rape the shit out of my uncle in texas holdem (counting cards). i’ve also noticed that usually they are only extra intellegent in one or two specific areas (usually math or problem solving). huh problem solving sounds alot like what i have to do every day you’d think any person of whom better understands said problem would have a better chance of solving said problems thus, being able to productively succeeding in life. now understand the notion of autism as the next “stage” may yet be a little hard to fathom at this time but thats just it. darwin was outcasted be the enirety of the amercan society and ridiculed for suggesting something new. i think what you my friend fail to understand is by discarding such ideas is an insult to science and if your to claim yourself a scientist than consider my point. the idea behind science the passion is to open your minds to that of the world around you don’t focus so much on fact or fiction focus more on how and why. how does it work and why does it work like this. in order to fully comprehend that of another you first have to set aside everything you know so your mind is open to a persons values and beliefs. its not your wrong this is how it works but much rather why do you think it works like this how can you help me undersand/show me that is works like this. btw you need to find better methods of persuation my twelve year old brother broke down your word play in a matter of seconds you showed little to none “evidence” to back up your point. you through in the mass amounts of geneplay opposing to that of MOST adaptations and that autism may indeed hinder ones ability to reproduce. i want you to research the increasing amount of autistic rape victims you might find the results startling and quite oppositional to one of your main (and only legitament) points. and try not to use the word geek my brother finds it offensive and claims that he has a harder time as an autistic child in society because of society not because he can’t understand things as well as most people. when you want to be a real scientist let me know. my email addy is yamabushizensei@yahoo.com and when you respond inform me if you would on the results of your research.
December 21st, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I am a woman with aspergers syndrome, with a husband and toddler. My life has not been conventional to start out, but I have done the things normal people do, I dated, I had sex, I got married. My husband finds me sexy and values my intelligence. It is very possible we are evolution in progress. I feel things that others feel in my body and sense things that can’t always be explained by logic. Some things are hard for me, knowing what to do when I get overwhelmed is a pain, if someone can teach me how to deal with that, then maybe I would not be as limited. All human beings have things that are easier for them than others. Also, who is to say we cannot learn social skills. I am already reading up on body language, and their are social skills videos. We can all advance in our abilities to some degree. Personally, for those who say that we are deevolution, you are being insulting. I have heard that aspergers symptoms have been said to be like the signs of being gifted on different websights. Some people with Aspergers excell in careers because they have a single minded focus and a love of what they study. So what if not everyone is a social genius.