Human Evolution...

[NeedAUserName]

After watching The Day The Earth Stood Still in the cinema, parts of got me thinking. Especially about humans needing to change, and evolving. I made me think about how humans won't ever evolve any further, unless survival is based on it, and then we won't change much, as species evolve because they need to adapt to climates, whereas we use technology to adapt, and that thought depressed me. We have reached the top of evolution, (well for now). Until something serious happens, i.e. Dramatic Global Warming, something happening to the Sun, Something happening to the Earth. We can use technology to deal with everything, and even then we will use technology to help us through it.

So I was just wondering what peoples views on the evolution of humans are, if we have reached the top, or if we have a long way to go yet.

 

[xitel]

We haven't reached the top, but we have stopped Natural Selection. What we are instead developing is Artificial Selection, with things like genetic modification and robotics.

 

[xxcloud417xx]

I believe that every creature still has evolution to go through. I mean evolution in my opinion never ceases, its supposed to be the natural way to adapt, and as long as there will be changes in the universe (which is going to be forever) there will always be evolution. As for humans, well if the species lives long enough then yes, we will continue to evolve. I believe the next step isn't a physical evolution, but a mental one. Possibly telepathy.

 

[NeedAUserName]

Ah, you raise an interesting issue. Artificial Selection. Are we allowed to tamper with nature? Can we decide what we should evolve into using genetic modification.

 

[Twilight_guy]

How can you tell if we're evolving or not? It's a very slow process across many generations.

 

[Thamous]

From what I've seen, humans are devolving, as though nature thinks we've have gotten a little out of control and causing us to lose a few hundred brain cells should probably fix everything.

 

[NeedAUserName]

How can you tell if we're evolving or not? It's a very slow process across many generations.

Yes, but apart from height, and build is there that much difference between us, and say humans from 300 years ago?

 

[Caliostro]

We are always evolving. Technology is but an extension of our evolution. How is it any different than any other "tool" animals find? More complex perhaps, but they're all built by us for our use.

Evolution takes millions upon millions of years... you wouldn't see the human race change in your entire lifetime if this was -10000 bc or something.

 

[NeedAUserName]

Evolution takes millions upon millions of years... you wouldn't see the human race change in your entire lifetime if this was -10000 bc or something.

I know, but you would think there was a difference between us, and the early drawings of cavemen, which while maybe not the greatest in detail, are at least a sign of what we looked like.

 

[fluffylandmine]

How can you tell if we're evolving or not? It's a very slow process across many generations.

Yes, but apart from height, and build is there that much difference between us, and say humans from 300 years ago?

Well I believe this is the point. We needed to become bigger, so we did. By someway our genes knew to get bigger and so we can now do more labor and itricate things now that we have greater minds(Despite the '1337' demographic people are smart, these people just act stupid, as do most...).

Should the need arise for us to be able to breath in thinner air, we shall in due time adapt.

 

[BardSeed]

From what I've seen, humans are devolving, as though nature thinks we've have gotten a little out of control and causing us to lose a few hundred brain cells should probably fix everything.

When I think of devolution, I think of back-pedaling to a previous form of humanity. We'll still evolve physically, I've heard a theory that our chins will recede ,as we no longer need to chew hard foods. We'll evolve to fit the environment that we have created for ourselves.

 

[Caliostro]

Evolution takes millions upon millions of years... you wouldn't see the human race change in your entire lifetime if this was -10000 bc or something.

I know, but you would think there was a difference between us, and the early drawings of cavemen, which while maybe not the greatest in detail, are at least a sign of what we looked like.

What, a second head? 4 legs? A genetic mutation like that not only requires rather drastic environmental changes but more years than we humanity has of accountable history.

Don't forget that the purpose of evolution is to allow a species to adapt to the environment, or random chance... The latter is... It's not impossible, but the chances of it happening are so minute you might as well not account for it... The former is all time and need. If you look back 200 years, we changed a lot. No our physical structure, but as beings. Our physical structure doesn't need to change, it's perfectly adapted for now.

 

[Silver]

Ah, you raise an interesting issue. Artificial Selection. Are we allowed to tamper with nature? Can we decide what we should evolve into using genetic modification.

Why not? And what's really unnatural about it? We breed animals to have the traits we want. We pick spouses based on characteristics we want in our children. That's selection right there. Using research into genetics, and genetic manipulation is just a more precise tool.

Isn't it just as unnatural to cure diseases? To use computers? To harness electricity? Genetics is a tool, like any other, for a specific goal.

Though personally, until we can adapt that technology to work on people already born, to change the genetic material, not of an unborn human, but a fullgrown one, we should refrain from using it, since no matter how harmless we make it, and no matter how much we perfect this technology, the way it should be used should be up to each individual. I wouldn't want to have someone decide my hair colour, my length, my gender, before I was born. I'd want to choose that myself, now.


Because of that, I also find artificial cells more interesting. The growing of artificial bones, muscle tissue, skin, etc. If that could be continued a few more steps, I wouldn't mind switching out a few of my body parts.

 

[xxcloud417xx]

If anyone has the manual for Starcraft, read the history. It talks about cybernetics and etc. and how they became too common on earth. basically humanity evolved (or was about to) into a cyborg race until a kind of sect took control and "purified earth" imprisoned all telepaths, hackers, or anyone that was part machine (be it prosthetics or anything else). What followed is the discovery of a new system that supported life. and who was sent to colonize? The techno evolved prisoner humans. They send the humans on cryo ships, that froze them all and sent them on their long voyage to the new system. But the computer malfunctions, they realize that they shouldnt have trusted Dell to make the Navicomputer (jk lol). They go off course, and prolong their voyage for a long time. When they wake up theyre in a completely different system, the coordinates for earth or the right system are gone. thus humanity begins again. anyway the point of all this is that, the humans from those ships are not the same as the ones from earth, if you play Starcraft or watch videos of it, youll notice that. Almost all of them have evolved through the technology.

 

[Twilight_guy]

How can you tell if we're evolving or not? It's a very slow process across many generations.

Yes, but apart from height, and build is there that much difference between us, and say humans from 300 years ago?

No, not physically. Once again though, evolution is a very slow process. 300 years isn't very long for evolution to do much besides make people taller.

 

[ChristmasChild]

Yes, but apart from height, and build is there that much difference between us, and say humans from 300 years ago?

Well, we have genetically evolved in the past 2000... (More disease resistant....)

 

[Dogeman5]

My post= "Idiocracy"

 

[ygetoff]

the interesting thing is that because we understand the basic processes of evolution, we can manipulate them. for example, statistically the dutch are the tallest people on the planet, if the dutch only married and bred with other tall dutch, then before long the tall genes would be dominant, and bingo! you have a subspecies, homo gigantis (scientific name)

EDIT
also, in the future, we most likely will see not physical evolution, but mental and artificial evolution. people haven't changed over the past few hundred years, but our ways of thinking and culture and technology have. people may divide based on mindset and belief. its a lot easier for an atheist to reproduce (and thus pass on their beliefs) in western europe than it is in the middle east.

 

[incal11]

We have cultural selection;
which often degenerate into racism...

 

[miner0]

havent watched that movie yet.. but about evolution,human evolution, we evolved from beasts, and now i think we're evolving back to beasts.. haha i dont know, more like monsters? especially those with power..