Chapter 34: The Bridge
The mismatch is real but the story of human evolution is not one of fragility. It is one of adaptation. And the same species that survived ice ages is not going to be defeated by office chairs.
◆ Key Insights
Neuroplasticity means the brain rewires itself within hours of new inputs -- the mismatch is reversible, not permanent
Evolution has not stopped: lactase persistence, altitude adaptation, and disease resistance all emerged in the last 10,000 years
Epigenetic changes can transmit environmental adaptations across generations without changing DNA sequence
The human body is a plastic system built to adapt within a single lifetime -- 300,000 years of evidence proves it
You don't need to descend the staircase. You need to build a bridge between the signals from below and the life you live at the top
Read the full chapter to discover why the science of human plasticity is the most hopeful finding in evolutionary medicine.
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