Yes indeed if you have a hideous mutation then it somewhat dwindles your chances of passing on those genes but genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia may be more likely to pass down the generations thanks to medical treatments. So yes lower chance of mortailty does allow for a larger array of traits to be passed down the line and some time in the future it is reasonable to assume that there could be multiple species that originated from us.Oh That Dude said:
Poll: Rate of Human Evolution
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Strictly speaking, Darwin did not come up with the concept of Survival of the Fittest. That theory was developed by another scientist as a misinterpretation of Darwin's theories. Darwin was even quoted as saying "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one most responsive to change."
The quote can be heard in Civilization IV (read by Lenard Nemoy)
To answer your question though, I don't truly think that human beings are the result of evolution. I think that humans are a freak mutation, kinda like... well this is going to sound negative, but kinda like a cancerous tumor only on a much larger scale. The difference is we have a choice on whether or not we are going to malignant or benign.
The quote can be heard in Civilization IV (read by Lenard Nemoy)
To answer your question though, I don't truly think that human beings are the result of evolution. I think that humans are a freak mutation, kinda like... well this is going to sound negative, but kinda like a cancerous tumor only on a much larger scale. The difference is we have a choice on whether or not we are going to malignant or benign.
No it does not, simple physical evolution, the abilities to process lactose and gluten for instance in what we eat, are traits that are relatively new in the human body. Evolution in humans does not appear physically fast, but mind you it has sped up considerably with the introduction of new technologies to our ever changing lifestyles. So much so that there are still certain segments of the species that are incapable of these feats of digestion yet. The proteins found in shellfish are also indigestable to some such as myself, (I am of Northern European descent, where shellfish were not as common), whereas others have no such difficulty because of the environment their ancestors lived in, and the continuation of that trait in them.Grouchy Imp said:
However, environment, not necessarily technology itself, is the key driving force behind evolution. We adapt, and the most useful traits are passed off to our offspring. It does not necessarily mean improvements are made, only that the adaptations produced are due to a constant found within one's environment.
Evolution is a constant because our environment is always changing, requiring us to adapt to it in any method we can. The only thing that has stagnated is human potential and progress as moral beings.
There isn't enough proof for me to believe that macro-evolution takes place among humans. I'm one of those "whack-jobs" who believes in intelligent design. That doesn't mean I discount the possibility of evolution entirely, but in my mind far to much credence is given to something that is still just a theory.
This link doesn't really have that much relevance to this discussion. They asked technology "shareholders and critics" what they believed the internet would do to humanity in 10 years. Even those that claimed it would make us smarter said it would do this by giving people "unprecedented access to more information, they become smarter and make better choices." Again, this doesn't alter how we take in, process or recall information. It's simply saying that by giving people such a continual stream of information you'll make them smarter than if they didn't have that stream. This is logical and is what I've being saying. However, just because you learnt a lot of stuff from the internet doesn't mean your child will be born smarter just like cutting off your legs doesn't mean your child will be born legless. Sure, your child may have more information to access or better ways to access it giving them the opportunity to be smarter, that is a technological advancement though, not genetic or physical.David Eller said:
Surely many instances of micro evolution would lead to the appearance of macro evolution if you viewed something from thousands of years ago (as shown with the Neanderthal) though?Ensiferum said:
This also caught my eye so I did a bit of faffing on google:Ickorus said:
As the graph shows we've actually shrunk on average when compared to humans when in the "hunter and gathere" stage of evolution and average height fluctuates based on several factors including availability of things such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care etc. Effectively, the healthier the civilisation the taller they will be (this isn't a golden rule but it generally holds). Since we have excellent medical care, and food readily available in developed countries we have started to grow.
Unless I'm very much mistaken the RQH is based on co-evolved species. So rabbits may evolve just to continue existing so they aren't wiped out by the foxes. Or a host evolves to enable itself to remove parasites which evolve in kind simply to be able to remain on the host.Mimssy said:
Humans no longer have this co-evolution, we are competing with nothing and therefore have no arms race to compete in.
I do believe that evolution is plunging ahead whether people believe in it or not. The number of people being born without an appendix, a rather useless and sometimes life-threatening organ, is on the rise.
The changes happen slowly. But they are happening. According to one theory, change takes place over millions of years, and along those lines, humans have been around in current incarnation for about 10k years. If it is correct, we still have quite a ways to go before really telling and obvious changes are noticed.
The changes happen slowly. But they are happening. According to one theory, change takes place over millions of years, and along those lines, humans have been around in current incarnation for about 10k years. If it is correct, we still have quite a ways to go before really telling and obvious changes are noticed.
That's based on inherited knowledge.Distorted Stu said:
It's believed that our brain capacity is no greater than it was in the stone-age.
Seeing as there are so many theories regarding evolution and they all have their strong points, my own personal take on evolution, simply put, is that we are constantly evolving.
As with any species, humans are always evolving to become more adapt to their surroundings and their life styles in order to be better creatures. Many people will argue the whole "Idiocracy" thing but first off, stop getting your science "facts and theories" from comedy movies.
While that may be an entertaining film, it is in no way accurate. From the outside, yes it may seem that way but it really isn't.
As for evolution itself, like I said, I believe humans (including us right now at this very moment) are constantly in an evolutionary state. Be it mentally or physically. Consciously or subconsciously. We're becoming more adapt to our surroundings.
As with any species, humans are always evolving to become more adapt to their surroundings and their life styles in order to be better creatures. Many people will argue the whole "Idiocracy" thing but first off, stop getting your science "facts and theories" from comedy movies.
While that may be an entertaining film, it is in no way accurate. From the outside, yes it may seem that way but it really isn't.
As for evolution itself, like I said, I believe humans (including us right now at this very moment) are constantly in an evolutionary state. Be it mentally or physically. Consciously or subconsciously. We're becoming more adapt to our surroundings.
Haven't you seen Serial Experiments Lain? Humans are done evolving in a normal sense but rather the only way we can evolve further is to expand on our knowledge of technology and eliminate all flaws in our design through the use of said advancements in technology...
It's down to a crawl because we have nothing to kill us consistently, but it will never stop entirely.
As Oomii said, evolution is constant. Whether it selects for strength and speed, or brains and hotness, it never ever stops.
It's remaining at the same rate it always has, it's just not necessarily moving in a direction that we would like.
Evolution and improvement are separate things...
Evolution and improvement are separate things...
Natural Selection is not active under present human conditions. Even the divisions between major races is smoothing over due to long range travel and interbreeding. What is, and will continue to happen, is artifical selection. We will identify genes through genetic testing, and individuals can make the choice to not pass them on to their children. This is already happening with many gene-linked cancers and developmental conditions.
I don't believe humans evolve. But survival of the fittest is a phrase that has been used for thousands of years.
Evolution usually takes place to improve upon our survival, something that isn't really needed since you don't have to stalk and kill a buffalo whilst naked anymore.