Will humans evolve further?
- Thread starter grazzhoppa
- Start date
"Things like cloning, biotechnology, genetics, computers will change the way we look. For example , I believe someday human being will genetically alter themselves and enhance themselves with machines."
I find it hard not to say "of course!".
"But I think we're proberly blow ourselves up and destroy the enviroment due to greed, technology, war, and production anyway."
Theres actually a very scary probabilty of that happening. The sooner we invent anti nuking, the better. Bio-disaster is also something pending, but we might be able to alter ourselves to be reistant to any new strain of anything that would hurt us.
When those two things happen I'll feel safe, but then again we will have probably invented something even more devestating by then...
"Take an average person and put them in a time-machine and send them to 0 A.D. Strip them naked, and they'll die instantly. Probably by walking off a cliff or pissing off a wild animal."
If you take an average animal from 0 A.D. and put them somewhere in 100 million AD, they would probably die too. We change with the times. Don't you think our world has changed more in the past 2000 years than it had in the 100 million years before that?
I find it hard not to say "of course!".
"But I think we're proberly blow ourselves up and destroy the enviroment due to greed, technology, war, and production anyway."
Theres actually a very scary probabilty of that happening. The sooner we invent anti nuking, the better. Bio-disaster is also something pending, but we might be able to alter ourselves to be reistant to any new strain of anything that would hurt us.
When those two things happen I'll feel safe, but then again we will have probably invented something even more devestating by then...
"Take an average person and put them in a time-machine and send them to 0 A.D. Strip them naked, and they'll die instantly. Probably by walking off a cliff or pissing off a wild animal."
If you take an average animal from 0 A.D. and put them somewhere in 100 million AD, they would probably die too. We change with the times. Don't you think our world has changed more in the past 2000 years than it had in the 100 million years before that?
kmguru
Staff member
That we found underground. What if all these deserts were once great centers of cities and technology that got destroyed by nuclear explosions? But definitely we have moved ahead from 2000 BC: 0 AD
The problem is whether we can sustain it? My speculation is, we may have had civilization rise in the past only to be destroyed when humans learned to split the atom. And if we do sustain it, how long - till we develop a doomsday bomb that destroys the whole planet?
"What if all these deserts were once great centers of cities and technology that got destroyed by nuclear explosions? But definitely we have moved ahead from 2000 BC: 0 AD "
Lets stick to the proven here, and there is no proof for that.
"My speculation is, we may have had civilization rise in the past only to be destroyed when humans learned to split the atom."
For every weapon there is a counterweapon. Of course it is possible we will destroy ourselves, but that is by no means inevitable. The sooner we creaate a counter nuke, the better. Of course there can only be prevention measures for non-aireal attacks, so we might just have to make the world a better places, and spread our race out among the stars so as to make it harder to kill us all in one swift shot.
Lets stick to the proven here, and there is no proof for that.
"My speculation is, we may have had civilization rise in the past only to be destroyed when humans learned to split the atom."
For every weapon there is a counterweapon. Of course it is possible we will destroy ourselves, but that is by no means inevitable. The sooner we creaate a counter nuke, the better. Of course there can only be prevention measures for non-aireal attacks, so we might just have to make the world a better places, and spread our race out among the stars so as to make it harder to kill us all in one swift shot.
"No proof that we have moved ahead from 2000BC: 0 AD ?"
whoops. I should have made my quotation clearer. I meant that it is not at all proven that "all these deserts were once great centers of cities and technology that got destroyed by nuclear explosions".
whoops. I should have made my quotation clearer. I meant that it is not at all proven that "all these deserts were once great centers of cities and technology that got destroyed by nuclear explosions".
Yes... but only artifically
With are population as it is and growing we could not hope to evolved the old fasion way withoug waiting millions of years. we need genetic engineering to do it in 10's or 100's or years
Nebuchadnezzaar
Registered Senior Member
Evolution no longer exists, as i understand it(not saying that is the correct way). everybody with glasses should be dead according to my understanding, UNLESS there is more to it and there is brilliance in everybody you just have to find it, IMPORTANTLY I don't like this second proposal cos' it makes me think there could be a God (alien/s who made us and is now watching his virtual soccer game play out on earth, "who's side are you on?" hehehe).
kmguru
Staff member
But the dominant genes are changing too. If you look at the changes in the last 60 years...it started with brawn and ability to work in an assembly line environment. Now it is changing in favor of computer keyboards and mouse.
The other part is Americans are becoming more international through gene exchanges (marriage) taking the best from each gene pool. The losers will be the inbreeding stock in Utah, Arkansas and Louisiana....
The other part is Americans are becoming more international through gene exchanges (marriage) taking the best from each gene pool. The losers will be the inbreeding stock in Utah, Arkansas and Louisiana....
Posted by kmguru:
Chagur, you got a point there. Our species might not evolve and a new version of us, a different species could take become dominant. Whether it was caused naturally or man-made.
There are many communities that their religion or culture prohibit marrying out of their group. The Amish have problems with certain diseases because many are related to each other and every generation it gets worse. I think that's called Founder's Effect.
Chagur, you got a point there. Our species might not evolve and a new version of us, a different species could take become dominant. Whether it was caused naturally or man-made.
Evalution takes millions of millions of years to take place. It took 3 million years for us to get down from the trees and gain sapience. 10,000 years of history is nothing compared to that.
In less than that all you will see is maybe a change in proportions a bit, resistance to major diseases, and the like. Until recently we have been subjected to little evolutionary pressure to change. If we have a hardship we use either technology or society to relieve it.
FYI: If you take guppies and have them breed in a tank without human intervention (other than maintenance) they will all become pudgy and lose their coloration. They become only good at breeding and eating. Nothing else. Reminds me of modern humanity.
In less than that all you will see is maybe a change in proportions a bit, resistance to major diseases, and the like. Until recently we have been subjected to little evolutionary pressure to change. If we have a hardship we use either technology or society to relieve it.
FYI: If you take guppies and have them breed in a tank without human intervention (other than maintenance) they will all become pudgy and lose their coloration. They become only good at breeding and eating. Nothing else. Reminds me of modern humanity.
"everybody with glasses should be dead according to my understanding,"
You're thinking of natural selection which is only a part of evolution (a big part, albeit). But natural selection only occurs when a gene consistently causes the creatures bearing it to die BEFORE they have children. If they have children, no natural selection.
"Our evolution is coming to a grinding halt."
It hasn't. Natural selection has much much much less to do with it now though, since mostly everyone lives to have kids. Selection will be only for major desieses and people who don't want to have kids. Evolution will still go on with that small natural selection, and the random mutations that happen all the time.
"The Amish have problems with certain diseases because many are related to each other and every generation it gets worse. I think that's called Founder's Effect."
The founder effect is when a small, non-representative group of a much larger population moves to a new area. This changes gene frequencies and thus the evolutionary potential of the community.
"The purpose of evolution?"
There is no purpose. That is like asking what is the purpose of the moon... It happens for reasons, but it has no purpose.
"If you take guppies and have them breed in a tank without human intervention (other than maintenance) they will all become pudgy and lose their coloration. They become only good at breeding and eating."
Thats a bit different though. That is adaption, not evolution. If you take the eggs of those guppies that have become only good at eating and breeding, and put them in a normal environment (perhaps with normal suedo-parents) they will be mostly completely normal (depending on how long you breed them for).
You're thinking of natural selection which is only a part of evolution (a big part, albeit). But natural selection only occurs when a gene consistently causes the creatures bearing it to die BEFORE they have children. If they have children, no natural selection.
"Our evolution is coming to a grinding halt."
It hasn't. Natural selection has much much much less to do with it now though, since mostly everyone lives to have kids. Selection will be only for major desieses and people who don't want to have kids. Evolution will still go on with that small natural selection, and the random mutations that happen all the time.
"The Amish have problems with certain diseases because many are related to each other and every generation it gets worse. I think that's called Founder's Effect."
The founder effect is when a small, non-representative group of a much larger population moves to a new area. This changes gene frequencies and thus the evolutionary potential of the community.
"The purpose of evolution?"
There is no purpose. That is like asking what is the purpose of the moon... It happens for reasons, but it has no purpose.
"If you take guppies and have them breed in a tank without human intervention (other than maintenance) they will all become pudgy and lose their coloration. They become only good at breeding and eating."
Thats a bit different though. That is adaption, not evolution. If you take the eggs of those guppies that have become only good at eating and breeding, and put them in a normal environment (perhaps with normal suedo-parents) they will be mostly completely normal (depending on how long you breed them for).
We do not need nor can we wait for natural Darwinian evolution! Are future is in Artificial Limarician evolution: Genetic engineering, gene therapy, cybernetics, AI so further. Unless there is a massive halt on technological development I will put a good bet that Homo sapiens will not make it to the year 3000 without being replace by something better (or going extinct in general)!
And a resounding "Yes" hushed the crowd of infadels and ignoramous...
Humans will evolve again and already have begun to. And I don't mean by way of technology either. Evolution is merely an adaptation of a species to its environment; according to this definition, our brains have been evolving ever-so-slightly--namely in capacity of memory and comprehension. We have yet to develop another system of brain activity beyond the neo cortex, but within the neo cortex, we are evolving.
If I may be so bold as to theorize--when we homosapians have the entire use of our brain, we will evolve again in a more recognizable way. Of course this will be a gradual development in accordance to modern science, but I intend to accomplish this feat in my years on this Earth and produce the first offspring of a new evolution in humanity. (How's that for ambition)
Humans will evolve again and already have begun to. And I don't mean by way of technology either. Evolution is merely an adaptation of a species to its environment; according to this definition, our brains have been evolving ever-so-slightly--namely in capacity of memory and comprehension. We have yet to develop another system of brain activity beyond the neo cortex, but within the neo cortex, we are evolving.
If I may be so bold as to theorize--when we homosapians have the entire use of our brain, we will evolve again in a more recognizable way. Of course this will be a gradual development in accordance to modern science, but I intend to accomplish this feat in my years on this Earth and produce the first offspring of a new evolution in humanity. (How's that for ambition)
As for Mr. WellCooked, I disagree that technology will put on the boots for the next step in evolution. Genetic engineering will only help the current withering cause of the standard issue human model.
Prozak, very good point that we humans have hit a spot where we will not really enhance ourselves further on this path; however, I travel a different journey through unmarked territory, with every intention of preventing us stupid humans from screwing up the normal path of evolution.
On the side: It is my belief that we have cease to evolve as efficiently as other animals because we have limited ourselves by assuming dominion over Earth--eliminating with technology the hostile environment that would allow natural advances in human evolution.
Prozak, very good point that we humans have hit a spot where we will not really enhance ourselves further on this path; however, I travel a different journey through unmarked territory, with every intention of preventing us stupid humans from screwing up the normal path of evolution.
On the side: It is my belief that we have cease to evolve as efficiently as other animals because we have limited ourselves by assuming dominion over Earth--eliminating with technology the hostile environment that would allow natural advances in human evolution.