will accelerated interbreeding eventually elimated diversity?

Question

or will that lead to planned breeding like the dog breeders enjoy to create such an assortment of "interesting" and diverse breeds. where does it lead, do you think? will all cultures merge and will there be need for more than one language? what is correct?

Answer 1

Will eventually eliminate diversity, and exhaust our gene pools. So we will become very vulnerable to pathogen agents, and will probably get decimated by it.
But still, we have a while to go, with all those tribes that never travelled before. And Human diversity is soooo huge! We still have a few thousands years before it happen!

Answer 2

On the subject of languages - look up 'idiolect'. We all talk a slightly different language, although there's a huge overlap with other people we regard as having the 'same' language.

I hope we keep all the languages we have right now, because each time I learn a new language, it's like finding a new window onto humanity's soul. For example: the term for respect in Welsh literally translates 'smallest'. Partly because the Welsh are all about family, and the oldest and youngest in a family tend to be small. Partly because many communities are mining communities and - 'Big John' notwithstanding - the most useful miners tend to be the smallest.

Incidentally, we've been trying the 'melting pot' thing in England for over 2000 years - and we're not beige yet...

Helen

Answer 3

There is actually more diversity within each morphological group when divided by colour then between these groups. If they were all combined through interbreeding, therefore, there would actually be no reduction in the diversity of the group as a whole. The genes would still be within the group as a whole and while a few genes may have some kind of reproductive fitness that somehow allow them to gain success within this combined gene pool the overall gene pool would remain relatively static in its diversity. Very few genes would actually find any significant reproductive success, however, so we as a species would just continue to survive with the majority of this gene pool staying intact within the entire group. We would not be any more susceptible to diseases as one of your respondents suggested, because if any particular gene was susceptible to any given disease our population as a whole would have many other gene combinations that would not be effected by that same disease and because the genes have been able to spread more randomly throughout the planet there would actually be less regional susceptibility to diseases then there is presently. This increased gene flow could actually even promote new gene combinations that could increase the fitness of these mixed offspring. Included in such a ethnic mixing would be the blending of cultures. Cultures are not as resistant to this sort of mixing like genes are, so a lot of the cultures would become dilluted as they melded with each other. Component parts might be held on for the sake of sentimentality, or to retain ones "roots" but if the mixing became so thorough that a person had granparents from 8 different ethnic groups, then obviously it would be impossible to hold onto the customs of eight distinct ethnic groups and that person would be forced to settle on one culture to represent them, or an amalgam of just a few of their founding cutures so as to be able to maintain some sanity in their life. As for language, it is already leaning towards a dominant one even without the mixing of populations simply because the British were the leading Imperial power such that enough of the dominant countries speak english that other countries are avidly learning english so that they can communicate and trade with this strong economic countries and trading blocks. And the British had enough colonies that still hold onto English, usually as a shared official language. This trend will most likely continue, and English will become the dominant language throughout the world, althout regions will still hold onto their local languages as well, just as most Europeans know 2, 3 or even 4 or more languages of which English is almost always one of those languages.

Answer 4

There will always be a need for more than one language because of different cultures but it is possible that everyone will be a brownish colour in different degrees! Unless your Hitler there won't be any interbreeding! This could take 1000's of years ! I find that most people tend to stick to their own colour and race but some of the most beautiful people are of mixed race. To each their own!

Answer 5

I suspect that by the time Earth gets to that point we will have colonized at least Mars & begin to develop a whole new race due to isolation. Different environments always require different genetic traits & any bottleneck tends to solidify these new traits.
Planned breeding may work with domestic animals, but even then a stray (dog, bull or stud) sneaks in every so often.

Answer 6

I believe that one day, there will only be one race. Many races are having children together more than ever. It may not happen for a long time, but it will happen eventually.

Answer 7

Look at the size of the human gene pool and do not worry overmuch.

Answer 8

Diversity will always be there. by active interbreeding we will be adding more diversity.

Answer 9

Might-do.