Future of Humans

[djmacarro]

Im just wondering what all of you think as to the future of human evolution as in:

-When a we will become a new species?

-What would our apperence be?

-What new traits may we develop?

-How we will interact with; each other/the planet/animal/rest of the universe

[Mokele]

Easy to answer all of these: We don't know, and we *can't* know. Not without knowing the future.

 

Sure, we can extrapolate based on current events, but what happens if a huge asteroid hits the earth in 2035 and causes a global cataclysm? Much of evolution is dependent upon random chance, so much so that long term predictions are a waste of time.

 

Mokele

[AzurePhoenix]

Especially considering that since TV was created, the average IQ has actually risen a couple points. Ironic, eh? The device that turns a mind to mush has the power to enhance it.

Anyway, current trends are at least leading to taller people, more gracile teeth and jaws, and that's all I know. I could see that as our dependence on computers increases, and upon more heavily processed foods, our fingers will become more nimble, and our digestive track less geared towards normal vegetable matter. Of course, this is just extrapolation into the near future. Like Mokele says, it's impossible to gesticulate with any accuracy past that, especailly when you facotr in the fact that we may eventually begin to alter our own DNA.

[Dapthar]

Anyway, current trends are at least leading to taller people, more gracile teeth and jaws, and that's all I know. I could see that as our dependence on computers increases, ...

Thus, we eventually end up looking like the stereotypical Roswell alien. Then, just to satisfy causality, future 'humans' end up going back to 1947 and crashing their time machine in New Mexico.

[AzurePhoenix]

har-har-har. I doubt we'll lose our hair, socieity's value of it lends it's long-term genetic survival. Same with eye-colors, so we won't get huge black peepers, especially considering the implications such eyes would have physiologically, I believe. I don't think it's too much to assume that we could evolve a phenotype with a gray skin color. Just a matter of time and isolation. I do though picture our noses getting smaller, and our heads slightly larger in the near future.

[darth tater]

I think that another factor to consider is genetic engineering.

 

As science gains the ability to alter our genetic makeup, it seems to me that there should be less inherited defects such as diabetes and a host of other things.

 

As to size, well what exactly is the advantage of being more that 6 ft. tall? That is, of course, unless one wants to play basketball. In that case, it would seem to me easier to lower the net.

[ku]

Isn't it obvious? Females have a storng preference for tall men.

 

As for the future of mankind, who cares, right? We'll all be dead anyway. Rational apathy.

[Diatom]

I do not think it is hard to see where we are going in the short term. The long term is too hard to predict and it is foolhardy to do so, unless it is just for some speculative fun. Look at what society deems sexually attractive. There are many examples in the animal world of sexual characters far outweighing characters of survival, i.e. the peacock's feather.

 

Men prefer slender symetrical women with a nice set of breasts. Women prefer strong intelligent men. These are just generalizations mind you. Also take note that the more successful a person is they are less likely to have many children. The average upper class family may only have 1 or 2 children, while a lower class family may have 5 or 6. If there are characters that tend to appear in upper class individuals they may soon disappear (I am not a social darwinist this is pure speculation). Europeans are not replacing themselves while the populations of the third world are growing at a very steep geometric rate. Characters in the that are common in third world populations will become more common in the human gene pool.

[Mokele]

Number of children is only half the story, quite literally. The *truly* important thing is how many of those kids reach reproductive age, and how many kids *they* have. You can have lots of kids, but still have lower fitness if they either a) have much higher mortality than usual or b) aren't very reproductively sucessful. Or both.

 

Mokele

[Kleptin]

As in the case of mules, which are sterile.

[Hellbender]

As in the case of mules, which are sterile.

Mules are generally sterile, but there have been extremely rare cases (I think only 1 known) where they are not. Interesting, huh?

[Kleptin]

woah... that changes a lot. But heres a stumper, if there was only 1 known case of a fertile mule, how did they find out it was fertile?

[Sayonara]

Please stay on topic.

[Nevermore]

Imo, pee may someday become obsolite. The average american is dehydrated and obese, correct?

The purpose of urination is to dispose of wastes that the kidneys change from fat soluable to water soluable.

Without the whole kidney and bladder system, water is conserved, and wastes remain fat soluable and are sent, with fat, out the "other way."

[paleolithic]

I think the future of human evolution will have something to do with shoes, since we wear them so much. I'm thinking things that are right under are nose but we are just thinking too out of the box for.

[Dak]

Imo' date=' pee may someday become obsolite. The average american is dehydrated and obese, correct?

The purpose of urination is to dispose of wastes that the kidneys change from fat soluable to water soluable.

Without the whole kidney and bladder system, water is conserved, and wastes remain fat soluable and are sent, with fat, out the "other way."[/quote']1/americans do not represent all of humanity. the rest of us are quite slim

 

2/any fat-soluble toxins will be stored, along with fat, in the adapose cells, and then slowly secreted back into the body.

[Guest tartar]

Im just wondering what all of you think as to the future of human evolution as in:

-When a we will become a new species?

-What would our apperence be?

-What new traits may we develop?

-How we will interact with; each other/the planet/animal/rest of the universe

 

You can bet safetely for a cyborg appearance: lots of gadgets and instruments implanted in different parts of the body

[Nevermore]

1/americans do not represent all of humanity. the rest of us are quite slim

 

2/any fat-soluble toxins will be stored' date=' along with fat, in the adapose cells, and then slowly secreted back into the body.[/quote']

1/Our fat way of life is spilling into other countries, look at japan!

2/ Damn

[scientistsahai]

As far as the new species part is concerned I don't know , but I guess in less than 200 yrs earth will no longer remain fit for human survival. There wud b huge amounts of CO₂ and few to minimum tress & aquatic life.

The ice caps will begin to melt and many lands wud drown. The mountanious regions will get lesser rainfall and plains experiencing more floods. The huge swamps been built in areas around the Bay of bengal and SE asia. The plants wud evolve to make more food from less sunlight and survive the activities of man. The birds may still be around with the insects and wud b changing to the environment.

As of man, wud have relocated to other planets or heavenly bodies and use cosmic energy for various purposes. The human brain size wud increase over a period of time and the limbs wud become shorter and less muscular('cause we tend to use them minimum). The eyes wud come closer so as to focus more on nearby objects and the hand-eye coordination increase. the sex wud just b for the pleasure of having fun else the invitro reproduction would take over.

The computers and gadgets wud provide us with new never before diseases & ailments that are more related to the lifestyle than the genes......

What wud genetic engg do then??

[bascule]

Humans are evolving memetically, not physically

[H2SO4]

1/americans do not represent all of humanity. the rest of us are quite slim

 

Hey!!!! Not cool! Anyway, i do not think this is entirely correct, like a previos poster posted, look at japan. Im not trying to put down japan like people put down america, but im sure theres other countries that are just as fat, or fatter as/then us.

 

 

I dont think we should look at it like "oh. ya americas fat" but think as a whole. I mean. where all people. Anyway, i was talking to my dad about fatnign foods and things, and talking about things like mccrapholes (mcdonalds). I suggested the thought, "i think when things get bad enough, the goverment will step in and limit what we eat" I would have no problem with this, becuase overall its benifiiting our race. Then he brought up a good point, this would be limiting our human rights.

 

I still believe when it gets bad enough they will do something very drastic.

[Phi for All]

I still believe when it gets bad enough they will do something very drastic.

What you're suggesting would be cutting the throat of commerce in this country. "They" (the government) listen to corporate desires because corporations can afford lobbyists. Lobbyists will never push the healthy agenda because keeping you "consuming" is a huge part of the economy. Informed voters are the only thing that will help promote healthy choices for people.

 

Until we see what the next big energy form will be, it's almost impossible to guess the direction humanity will take. If it pollutes like oil, we're probably screwed environmentally. If a huge environment consciousness can be awakened and if we get off our fat American-like butts to back it, we may see energy that doesn't poison us and protocols which take our health more seriously.

You can bet safetely for a cyborg appearance: lots of gadgets and instruments implanted in different parts of the body

I can easily see this happening, what with low sef-esteem levels and the current craze with body piercings. Why just correct your vision with lasers, now you can scan in all spectra! Knee need replacing? BioKnees will help you leap tall buildings in a single bound (and 120 monthly payments).

[bascule]

Hey!!!! Not cool! Anyway, i do not think this is entirely correct, like a previos poster posted, look at japan. Im not trying to put down japan like people put down america, but im sure theres other countries that are just as fat, or fatter as/then us.

 

Japan, with a diet of mostly vegetables and seafood, isn't even in the top 10 fattest countries, and tops the list for longest average lifespan. If you're looking for another country to rank up there with America in terms of obesity. try Britain.

[Mokele]

I can easily see this happening, what with low sef-esteem levels and the current craze with body piercings. Why just correct your vision with lasers, now you can scan in all spectra! Knee need replacing? BioKnees will help you leap tall buildings in a single bound (and 120 monthly payments).

 

Oh, believe me, knees and eyes will the some of the *last* places getting cyberneticly enhanced.

 

Think about it, if you could have superhuman abilities in one part of your body, what would it be? But you're right that the part of the body being modified will have a lot to do with self-esteem.

 

Or maybe my predictions have been altered by passing through the sewer that is my mind....

 

Mokele

[Phi for All]

Or maybe my predictions have been altered by passing through the sewer that is my mind....

What should our new company be called? Phallucybernetics? RAM Bam? Bananotech?