So what is the next stop on the Evolution train?

Question

Just for fun, what do you think we will all look like in a million or so years? Was it foolish to go ahead a name all the species in the animal kingdom? Will we be still "human"? Is there a scientific "progression chart" that will guesstimate what we will look like in a million years? Is a dog going to be a dog? A cat? Horse? What do you think will happen? Do you think it is possible that we could all become asexual? What are your thoughts?
I don't believe in evolution, but thought it would be fun to see answers of those of you that do.

Answer 1

It is impossible to make a realistic guess of how we will evolve in the next million years because it is impossible to make a realistic guess of how our environment will change over the next million years. If anything, history tells us that the most likely eventuality will be our extinction. Beyond that, my only guess would be that our technology and preferred habitats will have a profound impact on our long-term development. For example, it is hypothetically possible that humanity will diverge into many different new species, as long as our population is isolated in some way (e.g., through colonizing other planets and having limited or no interbreeding between them). This is called cladogenesis, and is very common throughout evolutionary history; we shouldn't assume that if we do evolve, it will be into just one single, unified species (though if no sexual or geographic isolation arises, that could, I suppose, very well be the case).

Answer 2

There is little more than speculation at this point and all kinds of people could have different ideas.

However in the last thousand years we've still been evolving, we're now significantly taller on average and our jaws have been shrinking. Very possibly we will continue to grow in height to the point where in a million years we'll be 10 feet tall, thin, hairless, with bad posture and long, slender fingers. If the jaw trend continues we could very well look like the Simpsons characters with their unusually big overbite.

I don't know how many of the vestigial organs will be there... the appendix, our third eyelid (that we never use), our tailbones, etc... those might all phase out entirely or linger. The blue whales still have hip bones, so it's possible to keep parts we no longer use.

Answer 3

I don't believe in evolution, but I do believe that humans' looks have changed a bit since we were first created, and looks will continue to change. I've heard that since there is no use for our hair right now, it will eventually just go away naturally and no one will have any hair. The earth may have changed a little (or a lot, who knows?) in a million years, so all creatures will probably adapt. But I do not believe that what are now apes will turn into humans, or anything like that. Because humans are humans - no matter what we look like - and we will always be the dominant species on earth because we are set apart from all other creatures.

Answer 4

Human science has progressed far enough already that the natural evolution of the human species is being relegated to secondary importance. It is now being surpassed by artificial evolution through genetic engineering and the addition of robotic prosthetics and electronic implants.

I'm sure most people don't think of their friends and neighbors as cyborgs, but many of them are, even today. From cochlear ear implants and pacemakers, to robotic hands and legs, artificial computer-controlled additions to the human body are already common. The future will only see more of them.

Answer 5

Without knowing how the environment will change, it would be difficult to predict future evolution.

Right now humans have changed the biosphere so drastically that we have no baseline or past knowledge that can help us understand how it's going to develop and change in the near to long terms.

When we have a grasp of how the biosphere is changing, we'll be able to tackle the question of the ongoing evolution of the species around us and of ourselves.

Answer 6

Right dow we are evolving toward being mor Hispanic since the hispanic population is growing faster. We are also diversifying were by tall peopple are getting taller and short people are geting shorter. It the future people will come in a wider variety of shapes and sizes until something comes along that kills off a large segment of the population.
Evolution has to be driven by death, so if no portion of the society is dying off then there is no evolution.

Answer 7

I don't think the basic idea will change much, but that our bodies will become more efficient - longer fingers, better musculature for holding ourselves upright, our brains will probably grow. Most of the changes would be internal and subtle like our cells being able to recognize cancer cells and better processing of food.

Unfortunately, with all our medical and technological advances, we are actually inhibiting our own evolution by keeping nature from selecting out the weak. We are fixing our problems with medicine, rather than letting nature work them out genetically.

Answer 8

I think that the Evolution train has been derailed. Despite the efforts of the believers, the myth of evolution is loosing credibility.

Answer 9

wookies or klingons