Humans can't evolve.

[Alex_P]

Humans can' evolve, we have too many people with too many random genes able to breed. Even when inferior humans would die off, medical science saves them so they can breed and spread their stupid throughout humanity.

"Medical science" isn't out saving "the stupid". It's out saving people with vision problems or heart defects or weak knees or asthma or arthritis or diabetes.

The only way Humanity will evolve to be stronger, faster, smarter etc is to force the World's best and brightest to breed in an enclosed environment for several generations until we have a race of better people that can spread their favourable genes through out the gene pool. We already know that this will work because we have thousands of years of practice on dogs so all we need is public approval which won't happen, why won't the public approval?

We can't just make whatever we want out of a dog given a few hundred years. Since rather little mutation occurs over that period of time, we're still strongly restricted by the overall possibility space of their genes. Even the first domesticated dogs had the potential to be a very small dog or a very big dog or a fat jowly dog -- we've just made it astronomically more common through selective breeding. We can't just up and breed a dog that flies or a dog that has opposable thumbs or a dog with horns or a dog that breathes pure nitrogen in any reasonable amount of time, because no combination of the Canis lupus familiaris DNA can produce these traits.

You know, you could probably be a lot stronger, faster, and smarter with the genes you had if you just worked on it right now. With just the genes you have. So, why aren't you training for marathons and reading a book a day?

-- Alex

 

[Fire Daemon]

Humanity is evolving. The average height two hundred years ago was a lot smaller then the standard height today.

Survival of the Fittest is gone (for now...) but that doesn't mean we are not changing as a species.

That's mostly the consequence of better nutrition, not genetic drift.

-- Alex

Thats true but I still feel like humans are evolving just very slightly.

 

[Labyrinth]

I am a eugenicist, but only in a particular fashion. I'm not about to say "You! Out of the pool!" as much as I would dearly like to, because I believe it is someone's right to fuck themselves up with kids as much as they want. Instead, I take the more subtle approach of encouraging good partner choices, and encouraging intelligent people to breed.

In response to the OP, we are still evolving, it's just in a different way. There is a delusion that evolution holds to a set past, and that it -must- rely on natural selection to function. This isn't true, per se. We have a social evolution which works much faster than genetic evolution, but that doesn't mean the latter isn't happening. More that we just don't notice because the changes are so slow and slight.

Evidence of actual evolution is in fact present. There is a bone in the base of the skull where the spine connects to the head which pretty much dictates the entirety of human posture and facial structure. This Sphenoid bone is held responsible for the structure of teeth as well. To my knowledge there have been several studies done on skulls recovered from both digs and from bodily donations to show that the angle of the Sphenoid is shifting, generation by generation.

Other things such as the mental capacity of individuals leads to either greater or lesser succession of their genes. What you are referring to is the fact that you have a whole bunch of IT professionals who are not having children because they prefer their lifestyle otherwise; as opposed to the lower social demographics including the people in the third world who have more offspring. In particular, third world families will see another child as not just one more mouth to feed, but two more hands and two more feet to feed the rest of the family with.

Our generation (I'm speaking broadly here.) is the first to really decide that we don't particularly want children. An entire gentry demographic known as DINKS (Double-income no kids) has sprung up because of this.

I believe I've gotten off topic a little. Evolution then. Yes, it still happens. It's just that it's no longer survival of the fittest in the strict Darwinian in-the-wild sense. We are the only species to actively promote the well-being of the lame and the elderly, but that doesn't remove us from the evolutionary ladder which relies on genetic mutations. Interbreeding between races just promotes the variety of the gene pool. Remember: Only 10% of our genes separate us from cabbages. There is more genetic variation between one social group of chimpanzees and another than there is in the entire human race.

 

[ItaniKnight]

We're not animals; we work above the "survival of the fittest" and change it to "survival of as many as possible plzthx". Of course this means a lot of complete retards make it through, but I for one would much rather have the eejits who sue McDonalds on a daily basis than have some kind of perfect humanity.

If you wanted to, you could argue that humans are already fully evolved; after all, we adapt to basically any situation with relative ease, and we're intelligent enough to survive pretty harsh conditions - we just *don't*, because our cities and houses protect us from any need to.

[Note: not trying to flame here, sorry if it comes across as one.]

 

[Erana]

Aren't Pedigree dogs generally drooling morons who look nice but aren't really useful for much else (they're 'fey' for lack of a better term) whereas mongrels are tough, hardy and can take punishment? Forgive me if I'm wrong, my expertise on dog breeding isn't that incredible, but I was under the impression that generally pedigree dogs are there for show whereas mongrel dogs are more useful for actual tasks that matter.

Worse than that. Purebreed pedigree dogs almost always have serious health problems, arthritis especially is common in lots of breeds, but many are susceptible to other things like cancer as well.

This is always the problem with a restricted breeding pool. You might get one or two desired traits, but you can't eliminate the unpleasant things that come with them.

Well-bred dogs are not always so. My dog is a pure white miniature schnauzer. These dogs had a few encounters with some other breeds, which gives them a bit more resilience. And a softer coat than most terriers.

Of course, the AKC won't acknowledge the White miniature schnauzer... *sigh*

 

[the captain]

If I learned anything from Stargate, we are going to continue evolving until we turn all glowy and ascend, thus shedding our physical form and existing as pure energy on a "higher plane" of existence. This new state of being grants us god-like powers and there are very clearcut rules on how to do it.

Ascension can happen in one of two ways: evolutionarily or spiritually. Ascension can occur when a human evolves the ability to use approximately 90% of their brain capacity. Spiritual Ascension can occur through meditation when one is pure of spirit and in the search for enlightenment, has a fully opened mind, and has shed one's fears and attachment to the mortal world.

So we all really need to start working hard.

 

[improbable]

Well, humanity's evolution has stopped being a means of adapting better to its environment, but adapting more and better ways to adapt the environment to its desires. So as long as science is being done, humans are evolving.

 

[ItaniKnight]

If I learned anything from Stargate, we are going to continue evolving until we turn all glowy and ascend, thus shedding our physical form and existing as pure energy on a "higher plane" of existence. This new state of being grants us god-like powers and there are very clearcut rules on how to do it.

Ascension can happen in one of two ways: evolutionarily or spiritually. Ascension can occur when a human evolves the ability to use approximately 90% of their brain capacity. Spiritual Ascension can occur through meditation when one is pure of spirit and in the search for enlightenment, has a fully opened mind, and has shed one's fears and attachment to the mortal world.

So we all really need to start working hard.

Disregard everything I just said, this is far more intelligent and much, much cooler.

 

[Naeberius]

maybe when we are hyper advanced energy beings we can figure out what the hell "furlings" were

 

[Metonym]

"Race of better people" That is not even a decent argument. The niche that a species occupies has nothing to do with good or bad and can´t be judged on ephemeral human values or moral standards. Strong and smarter or being faster is certainly not the base line recipe for success when it comes to every organism and ecosystem and humans adhere to a vast multitude of traits/rudiments that could facilate survival and reproduction.

Seen from within it´s pure adaption to the system under an extreme period of time. The end result itself being very hard to predict, variables being to many and "all".

OP seem to be talking about "social" darwinism in much they same way as the fairytales about hitlers conception of the world and presumed rationale.

We are certainly adapting as we speak, but just for comparison we are still endowed with "pretty much" the same basic boundaries within our psyche as the first hominoids/humans especially in regards to the psychological dispostion of the primitive man with the adaption of the neo cortex.

But as someone said we are probably going to be extinct by our own doing before we can perceive any substantial evolution within ourselves, since we are currently destroying the systems which we live in and on top of that we are capable of self extinction by political and military actions and the unforeseeable concept of stocastic relations which certainly has a major place in evolution.


edit:sp

 

[P1p3s]

They also have a tendency to have less kids than uneducated hicks, for whatever reason.

Forthought - planning, assesing the viability of bringing another life into the world, considering finance, politics, will my kid have any decent games to play in 10 years time...these are all important questions, ones that educated or at least self aware people may well ask, the 'hicks' as you call them (affectionately known as Chav's in the UK) don't think beyond 'the plunger goes in the hole, feels nice, sleep' that may be grossly unfair and I am calling an entire section of our population neaderthals but thats my point - I think we're DEVOLVIING because of the available genetic soup

has anyone seen that film about all this - it came out about 4 years ago, with Luke Wilson in it - he's Mr Joe Average and gets frozen in a time capsule experiment (there's also a hooker) and they wake up in the future and everyone is just plain retarded. It wasn't a great film, but I thought it was funny and very philosophically poignient

 

[Eagle Est1986]

Godwinned in 12 posts. G'night folks.

Huh, I didn't know what that meant, so I went ahead and looked it up. According to Godwin's Law, I've just lost. Guess I'll have to be more careful in the future. But hey, at least I've learnt something.

 

[Iron Mal]

There are numerous aspects of the Human anatomy and genes that in our modern fabricated society are more or less useless (the tail bone, bi-polar disorder, SAD, the appendix etc.), you would think that we would have lost these by now but they have been reduced to the point that they are benign (our tail bone doesn't help us significantly but it doesn't get in our way either) so they aren't selected against (we only use roughly 10% of our brains but we still posess the 90% that we don't use, it doesn't harm our chances of survival).

Human evolution has more or less come to an end since we face any challange our environment gives us by building around the location and by using technology, adaptation in the traditional sense is no longer nessercary for us.

The idea behind breeding a 'master race' would work in theory but a) it would take thousands of years (evolution is a slow process) and b) it is highly unethical to create a 'superior' sub-species of mankind (does that mean that we, the normal folk, have been replaced?).

 

[Whiskyjakk]

From a personal view would it matter if the human race did stop evolving (for some reason) anyway? I'd far rather have the beneficial effects of a welfare state and an egalitarian society now than a 'stronger, faster, smarter' race generations down the line when I won't be around to see it.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Humanity is evolving. The average height two hundred years ago was a lot smaller then the standard height today.

Survival of the Fittest is gone (for now...) but that doesn't mean we are not changing as a species.

What about the average height four or five THOUSAND years ago? What about all the stories about giants, and the giant-sized stuff that archiologists (sp) keep digging up? What about documentation in ancient texts about giants?

I'm not saying you're 100% wrong, or that's there's no way you could be right, but I think you're making one big blanket statement. Qualify that sucker.