Evolution...?

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Arawn.Chernobog

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There is no longer a system of natural selection in-built into our society anymore, where certain undesired traits would lead to individuals dying off or not procreating at all (Born with any form of disability? You'd die in nature for it, no breeding for you). Also a lot of people apparently have a very wrong view of evolution, it's not a magical "Next generation you get wings/gills/etc." it's a fairly slow process of several mutations occurring (less often in large and varied populations of a species, more often in small and inbreeding populations) over large periods of time, only some of which are actually beneficial (those born with non-beneficial mutations or those "left behind" without the beneficial ones will feature dwindling numbers, die or simply not be chosen to breed); It's fairly more complex then this, but what people need to take into account is Lamarckism is incorrect, you don't gain "new features" over 1 generation because you "need" it, it works with mutations and natural selection.


As for an answer to the OP's question, due to the large and dominant human population not suffering a considerable reduction (though scarce resources might reverse this trend), humans will perpetuate in certain local societies whichever traits are considered "more attractive/useful" (depending if the society is developed enough not to care for practical traits or not) via breeding, ex.: If a huge fad for "darker skin = better sex" rises in a certain developed nation and perpetuates over a few generations, there should be a CONSIDERABLE increase in individuals with that trait, and the numbers of whichever trait is considered unattractive will dwindle.


PS: However, if you do unlock the full human genetic code, all possible mutations and some theories on Stem cells turn out to be true... we could, in theory, hand pick which traits our offspring would inherit from either parent, or even access gene banks and artificial combine the sperm/egg of someone "genetically preferable" to one's partner and craft a combination leading to children born without disease or debilitating features... this is, however, a long-shot.

PPS: Currently, in most of human societies, some of the preferred traits are Tall Males, Light Colored Eyes, Blonde Hair, Little Body Hair, Slender Build & (to a lesser extent) Resistance to Illness (both infectious and hereditary), if these trends keep up this is where we should see a greater number of males and females preferring partners that contain as many of these features as possible, although there are always exceptions to the general rule that will prefer alternate traits.
 

Zipa

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Dec 19, 2010
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We are getting taller and longer fingers and thats pretty much it.
NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
We are always evolving, we are as a species becoming taller with longer more slender digits (fingers and toes).
 

NeedAUserName

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Palademon said:
NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
I understand that point, but I thought evolution was merely random changes over time that later carry on or die out. So I guess we would continue to evolve but since it probably wouldn't make us more likely to die then we'd reach a point of a lot of diversity.
It does, but those random changes have to give the recipient a drastic advantage over the others, so it can monopolize the food/women etc. Take tortoises, I dunno were, but I saw a documentary about how theres two islands, maybe a mile apart, were due to the placement of food, the shell around the neck is completely different. This happened because on the island were the food was of the ground the tortoises had to be able to lift their necks, whereas the tortoises on the island were the food was on the ground did not.

I apologize, I imagine this reads like the scribblings of a depraved lunatic thats because it is its because my hands are very very cold, and my brains spewing useless knowledge out.
 

crudus

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There is no real emphasis on any trait except "wanting kids" which can be passed on anyway(Thank you cheap rubber). So my official answer is probably genetic engineering. Although I don't think that is so much evolution as medical intervention.

RobCoxxy said:
Probably something like longer lifespans, nothing huge like wings. *sigh* Unfortunately.
Our bodies are too heavy for flight nor do they allow for any control in the sky....sadly.
 

Sweeney94

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We won't change, because we change our surroundings so no evolution is needed. There's also too many of us over a large area, so only parts of humanity would evolve, not the whole together - unless of course the environment of the entire Earth changed in some way.
 

Boneasse

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avouleance2nd said:
To quote from a ?the now show? audience question.
What do you think mankind will be like in a million years?
Women will have 3 boobs.
why?
Because boobs are nice
That made me laugh so hard, you have no idea.
 

thethingthatlurks

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NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
Forcibly, I might add. That's not a good thing, of course. For example, our overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial compounds allowed bacteria (eg Tuberculosis) to develop immunity.

What's in store for us? I foresee an overall decrease in intelligence, at least going by the popularity of reality TV, and the intelligence of the average freshman on campus. Face it, stupid people just breed more...
 

Boneasse

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thethingthatlurks said:
NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
Forcibly, I might add. That's not a good thing, of course. For example, our overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial compounds allowed bacteria (eg Tuberculosis) to develop immunity.

What's in store for us? I foresee an overall decrease in intelligence, at least going by the popularity of reality TV, and the intelligence of the average freshman on campus. Face it, stupid people just breed more...
Ever seen 'Idiocracy' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/]? The thought alone is terrible.
 

Joshimodo

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rokkolpo said:
NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
Exactly.

Evolution occurs when it is necessary.
Not quite - Evolution occurs when a genetic adaptation/mutation becomes a superior choice to the norm. The adapted creature ends up more successful than the regular members, and thus gets more mates, and is able to pass on it's adaptation.



I'd imagine the next "step" in human evolution would be a brain-based one. Perhaps lessened natural instinct, but more social abilities, such as an unrefined sense of empathy, or pheromones.

That said, it's unlikely we will evolve, since we have no "natural" habitat, and free will and our species' abundance dictates that we choose our mate based on what we prefer, rather than what is a superior set of genes to pass down.
 

dancinginfernal

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avouleance2nd said:
To quote from a ?the now show? audience question.
What do you think mankind will be like in a million years?
Women will have 3 boobs.
why?
Because boobs are nice
I love you.
 

Arawn.Chernobog

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rokkolpo said:
NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
Exactly.

Evolution occurs when it is necessary.
Incorrect, that would be Lamarckism, which has been disproved decades ago. Evolution does not occur "when needed" as life-experiences are not stored genetically and thus not passed down to future generations' genetic code. Put simply: You can cut off a rat's tail, let it breed, cut off it's offspring's tail and so forth... and NEVER shall you get a rat with a non-existent or smaller tail.
 

Hazzaslagga

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Evoloution works by having a member of the sepecies survive and reproduce more due to a slight mutations which usually happens when there is a change in the habitat. eg ground hardens and creatures within a species with slightly harder feet survive more as they can run faster, they then pass theit genetics and the process continues. I can think of no reason why this would happen to humans unless something drastic happened. Also people with a lesser IQ have more children, so increased mental ability won't happen.
 

Romidude

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I believe what is used most are the parts that will change the most during evolution, our penises and fists will evolve and become much more advanced, while our brains will wither away.
 

Arawn.Chernobog

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Hazzaslagga said:
Also people with a lesser IQ have more children, so increased mental ability won't happen.
This is also true, in general it has been noted that populations with lower IQ values tend to reproduce far more then the remaining population, so for everyone out there hoping for "BETTER BRAIN POWER"... keep hoping, because predictions point in the opposite direction with a large portion of the population growing less capable of logical tasks and creative development. (We're getting stupider)
 

quetzal231

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What will happen, I don't know, but I have an idea about when and why. Human evolution has stagnated becouse whe don't have to fight for survival. When we have basicaly destoyed both the earth and civilasation, human evolution will get going. Just look at the upswing in "fast" evolution after the dinosaurs died, once stuff dies new stuff gets evolved, the more that gets extinct, the faster it happens, so we wont evolve until we narrowly survive a global katastrofy.

So... GO GLOBAL WARMING!
 

Hazard12

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Hmmm...I'm going to go with larger voice boxes.

Those who shout the loudest tend to get heard. Those who get heard get attention. You need attention to attract a mate. Therefore: larger voice boxes.

Or maybe more douchebaggery. Both follow the pessimistic logic above.
 

Kukakkau

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NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
rokkolpo said:
NeedAUserName said:
We won't evolve anymore. We've reached a point were instead of adapting to our surroundings, our surroundings adapt to us.
Exactly.

Evolution occurs when it is necessary.
What about evolving resistances to diseases?

Good example is sickle cell anaemia - people with a sickle shaped red blood cell can't are resistant to the disease, survive and pass it on while people with regular shaped red blood cells are a lot more susceptible to the disease

That is evolution and it is always occurring
 

LarenzoAOG

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Love and free will took the piss out of natural selection, so if we do evolve anytime soon it won't be very extravagent or useful.