Evolution? HAH!

I attended a lecture given by a biologist a few days ago. She had some interesting things to say about specialization of functions in species, but the most interesting by far was that overspecialization leads to extinction. From what I understood, she was trying to communicate to her audience that whenever a creature's function in nature becomes restricted to only one or two particular actions, nature gives those functions to some other creatures who perform other functions as well and eliminates the overspecialised one. She gave some example, but I can't think of any of them right now...if you think of something relevant then please let me know and I'll edit the post accordingly.

Think it's a cruel way to dispose of an entire set of living beings? It's actually quite a practical, economical approach, that appears to be quite ruthless, but involves a sound allocation of resources. And for those of us who would like to disagree, I maintain that we humans, the most evolved beings, the highest on the food chain, the most intelligent and arrogant of all nature's children do exactly the same thing in our own lives.

Consider this little example: At home I require a TV with several channels, a telephone service and an Internet service, amongst a host of other requirements. I subscribe to the local cable TV supplier for my TV needs, I pay a private telephone service for my telephone usage and I subscribe to an Internet service provider for my net connection. These entities perform exactly their single, specified functions, with the only difference being that my cable TV supplier is a dwarf compared to the big companies that take care of my phone and TV requirement. Recently, my ISP informed me that in a short while it will provide a service by means of which, just a single cable connected from its junction box to my apartment, will supply a telephone service, Internet service and cable TV service and all of this at a very reasonable cost. Basically, this means elimination of paying three different bills at three different times each month, saying bye-bye to lots of annoying wires and holding only one large authority responsible for any problems in all these functions. What it also means is the certain downfall of the little cable TV supplier's business. The telephone company will come up with its own counterattack once the ISP get's cracking on its new scheme...it will baffle or tempt the consumer with all kinds of annoying informative calls (about 'attractive new schemes') from its call-centres (JUST when he/she is about to take an afternoon nap) and will do its very best to give the ISP a run for its money. The cable TV pygmy will run hither-thither for a short while, trying to be noticed, doing its best to survive, hoping and praying that it's consumers are happy with its work and will look out for it, but in the end it will be crushed underfoot as the ISP and telephone elephants battle it out, casually crushing all minor hindrances as they fight.

Fact of the mater: The overspecialised and less resourceful entity will get eliminated and its function will be absorbed by something more resourceful and multitasking. It does not matter how many other lives depended on the former and how many mouths go hungry when it fails to provide its function...these people will just have to find a way or perish trying. That's the way we humans have started treating ourselves...plain and simple.

Does nature seem so cruel now?