You're assuming people are rational.
No, actually I'm not.
I'm saying that the survivors will be more rational. If for no other reason that the process of elimination.
dumb poor people breed way more than smart rich people, and people who die of cancer tend to be old enough to have already passed on their genes.
fail hypothesis.
I've already cited numerous examples of how people don't care about the reality of their decisions, as long as it makes them feel good.
This is a personal and societal level failure, of a complete disconnect most people have between science, and the every day decisions they make in life. For most people science is some outward institution that makes their tv work and puts men on the moon, not a
method that is vital to distinguish between fact and falsehood.
It's an endemic misunderstanding. From people being scared over terrorist attacks but not car crashes, to phobia over genetic engineering and the continuation of snake oil in the 21st century.
If average people actually cared about the scientific method, there no way current drug policy could fly. Alcohol and Tobacco more harmful than Cannabis and Ecstasy? Please, the most rudimentary scientific analysis can disprove this.
this is the kind of bullshit that happens when people think science is some box of tricks, and not a fundamental method to understanding. That science "doesn't apply" in certain cases, or worse that people think that their beliefs are scientifically grounded when they are not.
When you look at the survival benefit chemo,radiotherapy and surgery have provided over the last 50 years, and compare it to the complete void of benefit that faith healing, power crystals and other assorted snake oils, you can't possibly come to the conclusion that people will naturally choose the most effective treatments out of some selection.
Most of the deaths we're talking about are in people past the average child bearing age, so evolution is not going to fix this.
As far as I know, "alternative" medicine is stronger than ever. The fact its growing in face of overwhelming reality that they do not work, and that science based medicine has now tipped the average 5 year survival rates for many cancers from "likely to die", to "likely to survive", is a real worry.
What needs to happen is for the disconnect between normal peoples lives and science to disappear. For people to start seeing science as an integral part of their lives and decision making process, and not something outside and foreign.