Author(s): Mark Roeder

Pop Science

Is Darwin's theory of evolution out of date? According to author Mark Roeder it is. In Charles Darwin's view, only the fittest of the species - the aplha males and females survived and evolved. But these days the game has changed. You no longer need physical strength and strong genes to make it - in fact in our increasingly man-made sedentary and digital world, the traits which count are often the opposite of Darwin's check list. Think of the film 'The Social Network'. The central battle is between two opposing sides - one, the Winklevoss twins have classic alpha genes: they are attractive, tall, strong, Olympian rowers, good at school, moneyed. On the other side is nerdy, slightly autistic, physically weak Mark Zuckerberg. The twist in the tale is that it is Zuckerberg who triumphs - it is his ability to multi-task, to read the new currency, to bend the man-made systems to his will, which make him the victor. Mark Roeder takes this example as the starting point of a bold new theory - that it will be the geeks who inherit the earth.