Neoteny is a term used by evolutionary biologists to refer
to the tendency of a species to retain juvenile traits well into adulthood.
Stephen Jay Gould felt that neoteny was a morphological characteristic of home sapiens. But the term also resonates beyond biology. For
instance affluent Americans experience a longer adolescence than their less
privileged counterparts in other cultures. The responsibilities of marriage and
career are often delayed since they're not totally necessary for survival.
Affluence leads to choice. Because one has time and money, one looks for the
best mate and the most rewarding career, with subsistence and concerns about
the actual survival of the species becoming secondary to self-realization.
Movies from Mike Nichols’ The Graduate
to Todd Solondz’s recently released Dark Horse reflect a condition of surfeit that perpetuates regression and
retards developmental growth. This is not to glamorize poverty or the plight of
those who endure subsistence level conditions. It’s to recognize that the
paradox of increased productivity is that it inevitably leads to a kind of
entropy. The same attrition occurs when people use
computers and calculators which take away the ability to write, think and
calculate. Homo Ludens, man at play, is finally so infantilized by his freedom that he loses the evolutionary sweepstakes, sharing the
fate of once vibrant languages
like Yiddish, Ladin and Ladino which whose existence is threatened from lack of use.
Friday, July 20, 2012
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