Have We Killed Human Evolution?

[theTrench]

Things evolve, or so I'm told, when they are faced with a problem that could wipe them out, or at least harm them. Such as trees growing taller, sharks jumping out of the water, and insects that blend into their surroundings. But haven't we, as people, attacked and destroyed about everything that could wipe us out? The way I see it, we no longer need to evolve, because of guns and pesticides, and gentic farming. Has evolution, therefore, stopped within our societies, or are we just stuck in a transitional phase, waiting for aliens or small pox to come and get us?

[abeefaria]

I think a book could be written to answer your questions.

 

We have not eradicated everything that could wipe us out. Not only do we evolve, but so do other living things such as bacteria and insects. For this reason, I don't believe that we will ever be able to live disease free. In addition, we still have to worry about pests and diseases that kill crops etc.

 

I can't speak for the aliens though

[Sayonara]

See other threads in this forum category for many good answers.

[Icheb]

You can't kill evolution because evolution is basically random mutations in your DNA, which leads us to natural selection.

[theTrench]

True, so I probably worded this thread's name wrong. It should be titled "Have we stopped evolution for humanity?"

[Icheb]

I don't see where you are going.

[Mokele]

Quick answer: No. Evolution by natural selection does not depends on crisis, merely on limited resources. If a person has an allele that allows them to more effectively pass that allele on, it'll spread, even without strong selective pressure. That said, selective pressures *have* been reduced, which *does* reduce the *speed* of evolution.

 

Also, there's always sexual selection. Every time you select a mate based on some characteristic like beauty (or even intelligence), you're engaging in an evolutionary mechanism.

[theTrench]

well IU guess I can't argue with a beautiful future

[jutntog1]

Not to patronise but simply to rephrase what other have said in a more simplisitic way evolution as your refering is created simply by random mutatations, the mutations that help the creature survive mean that more creatures with that mutation survive so more creaters pass that trait down to the next generation.

 

we could have stopped this proccess temporarily by making life to "easy" but it is not posible that it has permenately stopped.

 

two other points worth thinking about are

 

humans have "invented" unatural "evoulution" as in evovling technology etc, and while this isnt even simalar to biological evoulution in many ways it serves the exact same purpose.

 

even if we do not "Change" into somthing diffrent as the massises the random mutations that are hereditary will continue to either thin or grow based on how medical care is given.

[Ophiolite]

But haven't we, as people, attacked and destroyed about everything that could wipe us out?

Answer 1: Everything except ourselves.

Answer 2: What about the microbes and viruses?

Answer 3: Did you miss the couple of articles on global warming?

Answer 4: Let's hear it for the NEO's

Answer 5: Visit Niger this week and stare active evolution in the face.

The way I see it, we no longer need to evolve, because of guns and pesticides, and gentic farming.

Some people tolerate being shot better than others, etc.

Evolution is alive and well and living in a community near you.

[bombus]

As Mokele has pointed out, sexual selection is still at work, and has probably been the major influence on human evolution for the last 2 million years. In order to cope with our environment we developed bigger brains by making big brains sexy! This programming (finding big brains sexy) is still at work. I should point out that we probably don't directly select for big brains, but focus on other more visible factors that correlate with having a big brain, such as neotenic features.

[Kermit]

Speaking of mutations, from this book i've read, of the 100 or so mutations occuring at fertilization (or somewhere around that):

 

96 do nothing.

3 are potentially harmful.

1 is beneficial.

[bascule]

Relative to man's evolution in the past when he made the dramatic change from ape (when traits like speech processing/language became fixed at an enormously rapid pace thanks to rapid ascent up the Baldwin curve) human genetic evolution is at a standstill. For the most part, humans are genetically the same as they were 75,000 years ago. But the memetic evolution of humanity progresses at ever increasing rates.

 

To say humans aren't evolving is rather naive...