Is plasticity considered natural selection? please connect these two with human variation and diversity.?

Question

please explain. Thanks... I suck at anthropology =( so confusing

Answer 1

Plasticity is the ability of an organism to change in order to adapt to its environment.  An example would be some amphibians, who can change s*x based on the temperature of the water.

Humans are arguably the most plastic creatures on earth.  We can use culture in addition to physical adaptation to survive.

It used to be thought that plasticity was not "genetic" because an organism changes without genetic changes.

Now, however, it's thought that selection has favored plasticity in many species, particularly in humans.

In other words, our ability to think, adapt, and change WAS an advantage, and would have been selected for.

Answer 2

thanks stormsinger. I had a theory on that as well. Your answer help me too.