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Is this the end of human evolution?

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worldrunover

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Not that any of us will know the answer to that question, but I find it interesting nonetheless. We have chronoicled human evolution for millions of years, but who's to say this is the final version of our species? Is it inherently possible for humans to evolve again? I think most would argue no, going by the theory of Darwinism, since we have created a coddled existence where survival of the fittest no longer applies, thus no need to evolve any further. But I think it's an interesting question anyway.
 
worldrunover said:
I think most would argue no, going by the theory of Darwinism, since we have created a coddled existence where survival of the fittest no longer applies, thus no need to evolve any further.
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Riiiiight ... moving on ...
 
peoples thumbs will evolve to tap out shitty sms messages faster. our arms and legs will atrophy cause we are strapped to chairs and computers all the time. pretty soon, brains in jars.
 
worldrunover said:
Not that any of us will know the answer to that question, but I find it interesting nonetheless. We have chronoicled human evolution for millions of years, but who's to say this is the final version of our species? Is it inherently possible for humans to evolve again? I think most would argue no, going by the theory of Darwinism, since we have created a coddled existence where survival of the fittest no longer applies, thus no need to evolve any further. But I think it's an interesting question anyway.
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Evolution doesn't stop(unless there is extinction). The basis of your thought here is flawed and just wrong.
 
While there is less selection pressure now than there has been in the past you can't say that humans going to stop evolving.

The human brain may still be evolving, new research suggests. New variants of two genes that control brain development have swept through much of the human population during the last several thousand years, biologists have found.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7974

Journal reference: Science (vol 309, p 1717 and p 1720)
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So that's a no.
I haven't had time to look at the paper myself, but will when i get around to it.
 
MGS2 says yes... unless theres an evolved network conciousness to augment us on the path to evolution.

The weak live on now...

but I say no. This is not the end of Human Evolution.
I expect fucking gills at some point. And wings please.
 
Plus evolution could include forced evolution couldn't it?

Through genetic modification etc. once we understand it enough.
 
xmen.JPG
 
For one, humanity can, roughly, be divided into two categories: those in developed and undeveloped regions. While the pressure to adapt or die may not be strong on even the poorest Americans, there's still plenty of pressure in, say, subSaharan Africa.

Even where there's no immediate pressure on one's life, there's still plenty of pressure selecting for those who breed more, especially in societies in which many never breed at all; not to mention the new incredibly high mobility of genetic material and, in fact, the turnabout that traits that may have been deadly in childhood but advantageous in adulthood are now much more likely to survive to breeding age.
 
..I dont think everyone understands survival of the fittest like it was meant to be understood as it applies to natural selection, Im not positive it implys because you're more fit to live that you will. For instance steven hawkins...I should be way richer then that crip!
 
DonasaurusRex said:
..I dont think everyone understands survival of the fittest like it was meant to be understood as it applies to natural selection, Im not positive it implys because you're more fit to live that you will. For instance steven hawkins...I should be way richer then that crip!
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Well that demonstrates that evolution is slowing down/stopping. You don't see rehabilitation clinics being set up my monkeys.

In order for humans to evolve as a species nearly all of us would have to die, because this new evolved trait would only come from a small number of people who were immune to whatever was killing us. Most likely it would be a disease or biological weapon rather than a cougar that can outrun us or something.

So for the sake of living, hope that evolution has been put on hold :D
 
Sapienshomo said:
Who's the jerk-off with the egg carton on the side of his head supposed to be?
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hes the least cool person in the group. why would he do that? It doesn't look like anything except an egg carton strapped to his head. worst prop ever. and what the fuck is he holding. If I was the guy with the tinfoil claws, I would stick one in his eye for making the group look uncool(er).

the guy that is crouching didn't try very hard to dress up.
 
DonasaurusRex said:
..I dont think everyone understands survival of the fittest like it was meant to be understood as it applies to natural selection, Im not positive it implys because you're more fit to live that you will. For instance steven hawkins...I should be way richer then that crip!
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Yeah when Darwin published, people took "survival of the fittest" as a way to say rich people were better than poor people. No cash - too bad hobo, its survival of the fittest.

We are kinda fucking up the process because we spend triple or ten times the resources to keep mentally and physically handicapped kids alive. If it lives, we feel we have to keep it alive so our nurture factor is through the roof in America. Whereas a retarded giraffe is first to die in the wild. Our ability to "love" outweighs choosing fit partners. Its not like days of old where a woman was sold or a man with lots of money was deemed fitter.

In terms of evolving we are messing with God right now. We are altering genetics and taking supplements. Babies are screened for certain birth defects and given the option to abort. Although we should be working towards larger brains with weaker bodies. IE the Itchy and Scratchy with the super intelligent, telepathic mice. But we want super-athletes right now so I'm sure China has been genetically enhancing athletes for the next Olympics. Gentic enhancement was legal for a while, but banned by the IOC. Unfortunately, there is no way to detect it unless you have samples before and after - and proof of the procedure taking place.
 
acidviper said:
In terms of evolving we are messing with God right now. We are altering genetics and taking supplements. Babies are screened for certain birth defects and given the option to abort. Although we should be working towards larger brains with weaker bodies. IE the Itchy and Scratchy with the super intelligent, telepathic mice. But we want super-athletes right now so I'm sure China has been genetically enhancing athletes for the next Olympics. Gentic enhancement was legal for a while, but banned by the IOC. Unfortunately, there is no way to detect it unless you have samples before and after - and proof of the procedure taking place.
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... Can you please bring me along on your next trip to 2020?
 
the less capable need not die off in order for evolution to continue... only separation between gene pools, leading eventually to 2 different species. We choose our friends and mates. I've personally never seen genious level people married to idiots. Perhaps there is potential for some real separation here.

Anyway, screw mankind... our job will be done once we create machines smart enough to replace us.... conscious beings without crappy 70 year lifespans and who don't need to write shit down to remember it.
 
Evolution doesn't need genetic seperation as genetic compatability is utterly relative. You're thinking of speciation, which is when two populations drift independently enough in some way so that they lose relative compatability.

Anyway, while I wouldn't say it has stopped or ended for us, it's certainly slowed down for multiple reasons. Large interbreeding populations tend to have stable genes anyway.
 
We will one day leave this planet and Earth will fade into mythology.

Our purpose here is to create a huge layer of plastic and toxic waste in the earth's crust. That's it.
 
Optimistic said:
Oh, he certainly went on a trip, but it didn't involve a time machine -
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Don't cry when China cleans up at the next Olympics. If you think Barry Bonds has been juicing up on some good undetectable shit, think of what you could do with billions of dollars in R&D and millions of test subjects.
 
My guess is that physical evolution is done and the evolution of the mind is next. I suspect our bodies will wither and we will control everything with the machines we make... and telekenesis. Well get to the point where machines will do everything and we'll live in a virtual world where we can do whatever we please. We'll even be able to visit other people's virtual worlds kinda like animal crossing. Also, penis size will increase by 213%.
 
Our brain and hands are likely still evolving very much.

You don't need darwinism for evolution. It's like generational muscle growth. If you challenge your brain/hands to do more things, and more complicated things, it will adapt.

Some may say that "oh, everything is so automated these days, people dont' have to think." That's bullshit. We do so much more than people did 100 years ago. Even stuff like computer strategy games use more thought than stuff previously.
 
Sharks have been chillin' for like what is it.. 400 million years now. If we don't need physical evolution, it just ain't going to happen. I think the human mind has a long way to go though.. <knocks on hollow head>.
 
Yeah... I don't think it's over at all. Even over the past 2000 years, the average height of a european (read: caucasian) has risen like 2 inches or so.
 
I wouldn't say that evolution has stopped for mankind, it has just been put on indefinite hold until something cataclysmic happens that it forced it like a pandemic, nuclear holocaust, or a meteor hit. I am pretty sure that even our mind will still not continue to evolve because statistically, intelligent people tends to have lesser or no children compared to normal people.
 
teh_pwn said:
Our brain and hands are likely still evolving very much.

You don't need darwinism for evolution. It's like generational muscle growth. If you challenge your brain/hands to do more things, and more complicated things, it will adapt.
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Lamarckism isn't something to bring back in a retro fad. :P
 
evolution doesnt stop and it isnt always in the direction you think. It could and is often at the cellular/molecular level. For all you know, the average amount of air a human in breathe in has risen 0.1% which is pretty significant on the evolutionary scale. Our lives are only an insignifantly small amount of time compared to the evolutionnary timeline. Evolution is never ending when the environment is always changing. That is the core of evolution and life as we humans understand it.
 
We don't know for sure. Our knowledge of how evolution works is incomplete.

Survival of the fittest was still in effect a few thousand years ago, so those scientific studies about the beginnings of civilization may not be applicable to today's humans. By keeping everyone alive and able to reproduce, we may be nearing the very end of human evolution.

On the other hand, maybe we're all changing and nobody will really see anything for thousands of years.

Or maybe some will change and some won't in the absence of natural selection.

Someone bump this thread in a few thousand years and post some answers.
 
whytemyke said:
Yeah... I don't think it's over at all. Even over the past 2000 years, the average height of a european (read: caucasian) has risen like 2 inches or so.
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Hasn't it risen considerably in the last 100 years or so, too? I thought better medicine and an understanding of what our bodies need has contributed to that.
 
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