The Future of Man--How Will Evolution Change Humans?

[Dover]

The Future of Man--How Will Evolution Change Humans?




People commonly assume that our species has evolved very little since prehistoric times. Yet new studies using genetic information from populations around the globe suggest that the pace of human evolution increased with the advent of agriculture and cities.
If we are still evolving, what might our species look like in a millennium should we survive whatever environ­mental and social surprises are in store for us? Specu­la­tion ranges from the hopeful to the dystopian.

When you ask for opinions about what future humans might look like, you typically get one of two answers. Some people trot out the old science-fiction vision of a big-brained human with a high forehead and higher intellect. Others say humans are no longer evolving physically—that technology has put an end to the brutal logic of natural selection and that evolution is now purely cultural.

The big-brain vision has no real scientific basis. The fossil record of skull sizes over the past several thousand generations shows that our days of rapid increase in brain size are long over. Accordingly, most scientists a few years ago would have taken the view that human physical evolution has ceased. But DNA techniques, which probe genomes both present and past, have unleashed a revolution in studying evolution; they tell a different story. Not only has Homo sapiens been doing some major genetic reshuffling since our species formed, but the rate of human evolution may, if anything, have increased. In common with other organisms, we underwent the most dramatic changes to our body shape when our species first appeared, but we continue to show genetically induced changes to our physiology and perhaps to our behavior as well. Until fairly recently in our history, human races in various parts of the world were becoming more rather than less distinct. Even today the conditions of modern life could be driving changes to genes for certain behavioral traits.

If giant brains are not in store for us, then what is? Will we become larger or smaller, smarter or dumber? How will the emergence of new diseases and the rise in global temperature shape us? Will a new human species arise one day? Or does the future evolution of humanity lie not within our genes but within our technology, as we augment our brains and bodies with silicon and steel? Are we but the builders of the next dominant intelligence on the earth—the machines? ...cont'd

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-future-of-man

[ixion]

1. One of the best I've heard is Kurzweil's theory

that we'll create a machine capable of reproducing and repairing itself, and thus render ourselves obsolete.

Then, of course, there's always de-evolution. :evilgrin:

[cliffordu]

3. I'm thinking the de-evolution has already started.

[YOY]

4. The idiocracy is set in motion. Idiots and religious freeks reproduce under "Gods will"

Soon to be a planet of mouthbreathers until the pandemic comes along... :scared:

[comtec]

5. I honestly think we've already started seeing the splitting of the human species into two branches

The intelligent branch whose mental capacity is ever expanding, becoming more efficient, etc, and the freepers.

The freeper is a under evolved, sometimes painfully "stupid" creature that is more privative in their way of thinking. They are more violent, and prone to outbursts brought on by impotence in dealing with modern life. They are incapable of compassion for anything that is not them, and have limited abilities to deal with anything new and different - if any at all.

Currently most freep-ishness is mental and chosen (self centered assholes) much of it is not - literally too stupid to know better.

I think, in all seriousness, we'll see a staggering difference between teh freeps adn the rest of humanity.

Now when I say frepers, im not just talking about those mental pygmies over at free republic. I can assure you that here in old Europe, in "enlightened" Holland there are just as many (honestly) if not MORE freps in the population, by percentage.

Freepage can be stopped, or at least limited, by educating the person early on in life, but what is required for that is so cruel to even a freep parent that it's unthinkable for a evolved human to seriously consider - taking away that child. Better to leave them to grow up a freep than to sink to their level.

Here you have (imho evil) Christian parties that want to limit freedoms of non-dutchies (like myself) to live here as dual citizenship, and completely eliminate the abilities of entire classes/groups of peoples from coming here (Moroccans are the favorite target for the dutch freeps- CDA, CU, VVD, PVV, as well as pols, and Romanians)

We need to realize there is a split, and it's becoming ever polarizing in this modern world, between those with compassion, and care about others, and the self centered assholes that are left overs from the dust bin of history.

[Ian David]

2. The size of the human brain is limited by the size of the mother's birthing hips.

And the necessity of being able to walk limits the size of the hips.

[cliffordu]

6. So you're saying that because I have such a large and well developed

brain, my mom had a big ass???

I'm gonna give her your address.

[Orrex]

8. Not a big ass...

:evilgrin:

[cliffordu]

9. lol. Same thing my dad said

[Ian David]

12. No, because your mom had a big ass, she didn't die delivering your freakishly large head.

:)

[dmallind]

7. I don't see how it could

The only reason species evolve is that one mutation has a breeding or survival (same thing really) advantage over another. I don;t think there has been a physiological differentation in breeding advantages for many many generations.

I suppose if the race were near wiped out by some kind of bug and only,say, short people had immunity for some strange reason I can't imagine, then we'd become shorter, but I doubt anyone could accurately predict such a change. Global warming etc will not cause a survival risk to the species although it may reduce significantly some minor variation like Melanesian features. As it is, humans with all kinds of physiological variations manage to reproduce, so I don't think any currently known variation, be it brain size or anything else, will come to predominate.

[Phoonzang]

10. Future human evolution will be artificial.

Genetic enhancement, cyborgization (is that a real word?), the singularity...etc. Where we go as a species is going to be up to us. I suspect sometime in the not so distant future humanity will end up branching off onto several different paths. There will be luddites and technophobes who will attempt to halt progress and stay "pure" but they'll be left behind and probably become extinct.

[Orrex]

11. 'Artificial' is an illusion

Anything we can do, from pissing in the woods to rewriting the genetic code, is by definition natural, because we are creatures of nature.

I suspect sometime in the not so distant future humanity will end up branching off onto several different paths. There will be luddites and technophobes who will attempt to halt progress and stay "pure" but they'll be left behind and probably become extinct.

Morlocks and Eloi, anyone? ;)

[Phoonzang]

13. Ok, I see your point. And yes....

Morlocks and Eloi, except the Eloi won't be the "pretty ones". They'll probably be more....Deliverance. ;)