If you believe chuck darwins theory it is that all living creatures are evolving and that the strongest survive, if the human race had not left evolution a long time ago(because we cure the sick) what do you think we would've evolved into?
2006-10-01 08:27:30 · 21 answers · asked by scuba_steve 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
been getting some good responses but when i meant evolving into i meant we went from being a knuckle dragging primate to primitive cave man to intellectual humans we have today, if this was to continue what would become... telepathic genius wonders?
2006-10-01 10:19:43 · update #1
Actually evidence suggests we are still evolving. We slowed the process considerably with medicine but it only effects evolution, it doesn't stop it. It would seem we are getting larger (and I don't just mean fatter) although our metabolism is becoming more efficient, we are getting more intelligent (believe it or not) and were are living longer (that's 95% medicine but there's a small part of that's not accounted for).
2006-10-01 08:31:57 · answer #1 · answered by tenaciousd 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evolution doesn't mean the "survival of the fittest" (oh, BTW, not exactly the strongest, but the best able to survive and reproduce in a particular environment), that mechanism is called natural selection. Evolution is the accumulation of changes in a population, or the change in allele frequency of any gene in the population (search for industrial melanism and you'll probably find a good deal of information on how evolution works), as those who place the emphasis on the molecular level would define. Originally, it is natural (sexual, group, whatever) selection that leads to evolution, but that doesn't mean it is the only mechanism. Even if selection works a bit differently in human society, we can evolve (though I don't know if there has been investigation into the current trends in the human gene pool), and besides changes in allele frequencies (which might be eliminated as we switch off natural selection, or they might only take different trends) there are also mutations that keep on occurring (a very recent and very famous example is Queen Victoria's haemophilia gene, which I'm sure is dealt with extensively in many books and websites). So changes keep happening, and reproductive success is still differentiated between the members of a community (obviously some people have more children/grandchildren and so on than others). We didn't stop evolving at all.
As for what we might have evolved into, that's a question that cannot be answered by my (our) knowledge. Curing the sick began by caring for the sick, which is a very important part of being human - humans are moral beings and humans (at least some) show care for others, and were it not like that... well, I don't know what would've happened. I don't know how essential this moral awareness is to human intelligence. I guess our social organisation would've been totally different without the emotional tools that cause us to care for the sick, and we'd definitely not be the dominant shaper of the world's ecology we are today, but that's all just pure guessing.
2006-10-01 15:50:09 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evolution on the genetic side is a slow process which we have made even slower by technology. However we are evolving mental software at an extreme rate. The main difference between us and the cavemen is our knowledge, language thoughts etc. this has been growing at fantastic rates and gives us the ability to out compete all other species. It is this knowledge which is driving our evolution. In a similar way in which the software on voyager has been changed to make the hardware more efficient. We will soon achieve control of genetic make up and control of physical matter through nano-technology. This will make us demi-gods. Evolutions final outcome has to be Godhood we are almost there.
2006-10-01 17:09:03 · answer #3 · answered by Aerroc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Humans are still evolving and always will be. The only way you can stop evolution is by somehow ensuring that every person has exactly the same number of children as everyone else and that all children have exactly the same chance of having children of their own.
Evolution does not have a direction or a goal - it is just the product of which children survive and which dont. As long as people keep having children evolution will continue.
2006-10-02 19:09:55 · answer #4 · answered by m.paley 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evolution does continue. For instance, children with large, more developed heads do not die at birth anymore; they are delivered using a Cesarean section. Our knowledge of medicine allows these children to live and contribute to our gene pool. I suppose this means that c-sections will be more common in the future, and another obstacle for larger brains has thus been overcome.
Not that I think humans will therefore become telepathic, but that's just because I think telepathy is humbug. A brain can't produce that kind of energy.
---
Edit: As for cdf-rom, you're a moron. Just because I believe in Gravity doesn't mean I have to push people off of high buildings.
2006-10-02 17:50:24 · answer #5 · answered by ThePeter 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evolution doesnt happen over a short space of time. Although we are alot taller than we were say even 100 years ago. We probably evolving but because of widespread mating and that then we might evolve slightly quicker than other species, but still takes a very long time.
2006-10-01 15:40:45 · answer #6 · answered by Willis 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
(I HATE YA -- I type an answer, it chooses that moment to ask for my password, every frickin' DAY, and then offs my answer so I have to reconstruct it. I HATE, HATE, HATE how they do that every freakin' day.)
hate
Sorry, I'll try to reconstruct what WAS a reasonable response.
You've got two common misconceptions about evolution going here: That each species is constantly continuing to evolve, whereas most species are pretty stable for most of their existence.
The other is the notion of "a long time" -- medicine hasn't even been around an eye-blink's worth of time, evolutionarily speaking.
Heck, humans haven't been around a long time, on a geologic scale of time.
The difficulty in really grasping the time involved in the history of Earth is one of the biggest obstacles for an accurate understanding of evolution.
I mean, we talk about "The Week That Never Ends" -- which is no time at all, really.
and don't call him "chuck" -- he HATES that.
;-)
If you're interested in understanding evolution, here are some sources:
2006-10-01 17:01:00 · answer #7 · answered by tehabwa 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It may seem like we have stopped evolving, or to some people reduced our elvolution rate but your forgetting about our advancements in genetics.
One day scientists will discover how each gene works and use that knowledge to cure mental dieases, and allow us to survive in harsh environments (including space).
What I'm saying is, is that the future of evolution is genetic modification (or robotic depending which advances further).
2006-10-01 15:39:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evolution is a never ending process... we are still evolving. Until the human race is wiped out, we will continue to evolve.
2006-10-01 15:54:31 · answer #9 · answered by ChooseRealityPLEASE 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The evolution that is taking place is based on intelligence, strength of will and beautyl.
The less intelligent can make it due to there will to succeed, and the more intelligent find themselves floating to the top. Where you are in society usually plays a big part in who you pair off with and this is usually at least partly dependant on beauty of sorts.
The gap between the top and bottom of the genetic gene pool is getting bigger,
2006-10-01 16:03:52 · answer #10 · answered by jimbo_thedude 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋