NationStates Jolt Archive

If you think evolution is correct (even in part) or incorrect what do you think (or if you don't believe in evolution what would you pretend) we are evolving to? What do you think our current lifestyles and enviroment will have us evolve to?

Do you think we'll have six fingers as a result of generations of keyboardists and using our fingers to manipulate our enviromentent around us? Do you think in the future you'll see some trendy, handsome ladies with goatees as a result of new gender roles? Will people become taller due to growth hormones in food? Will our congregating in large groups result in telepathy? Will fat people cause us to evolve a second heart? Will we become dependant on sugar and caffine for wellbeing? Will constant weightlessness in space cause us to have ribbon thin muscles like a sloth? Will we see another large scale extinction, or are we already in one? Will we die out?

Please Note: This is not an evolution Vs creationism thread, nor should it become one. This is just a theoretical thread to have some fun in and a chance to make predictions about humans in millions, if not billions of years time.

What do you think? Who will we be?

Are you looking for natural or artifical evolution?

If you think evolution is correct (even in part) or incorrect what do you think (or if you don't believe in evolution what would you pretend) we are evolving to? What do you think our current lifestyles and enviroment will have us evolve to?

Do you think we'll have six fingers as a result of generations of keyboardists and using our fingers to manipulate our enviromentent around us? Do you think in the future you'll see some trendy, handsome ladies with goatees as a result of new gender roles? Will people become taller due to growth hormones in food? Will our congregating in large groups result in telepathy? Will fat people cause us to evolve a second heart? Will we become dependant on sugar and caffine for wellbeing? Will constant weightlessness in space cause us to have ribbon thin muscles like a sloth? Will we see another large scale extinction, or are we already in one? Will we die out?

Please Note: This is not an evolution Vs creationism thread, nor should it become one. This is just a theoretical thread to have some fun in and a chance to make predictions about humans in millions, if not billions of years time.

What do you think? Who will we be?

Humans in the developed world are getting lazier and fatter, evolving to the point where we are completely dependant on machines to do our work. Eventually, we will just die out. Now the developing world, they might survive, if we don't make them like us!

EDIT: Ok, I completely missed the second part of your post. I think we are heading to a mass extinction very soon. The Earth's ecosystem will crumble, but people being as gullable and as stupid as they are will believe the government constantly telling them "everything's fine". There will be no large-scale evacuations (the facilities won't exist and we won't have colonized other planets because people always want lower taxes!), then we'll all die. Either that or an asteroid.

An interesting side note: It is believed that fingernails are in fact reptilian scales in the process of evolving in to hair.

There will be mass extinctions, but humanity will survive likely because of our technology, which is something prior dominant species did not have.

I will say that the tailbone and vestigal organs will fade out (along with the sinuses, hopefully) in time.

The brain's capacity will expand as the demands on human intelligence grow and more about the brain is developed (artificial evolution).

We probably won't be much different than we are now, just, smarter.

This is, of course, assuming that evolution is correct and there won't be another mass extinction occuring in the near future.

Are you looking for natural or artifical evolution?

Natural, artificial, imaginary... What ever! :)

P.S. I'm a massive pessimist. And I hope the sinuses evolve out! No more alergies or sinus migraines! ^.^

An interesting side note: It is believed that fingernails are in fact reptilian scales in the process of evolving in to hair.


I think finger nails are made of the same stuff as hair and they will stay as nails because of the protection they can afford your fingers.

Darwinian Evolution would propose we actually get more retarded, but i'm not gonna get into that.

We are already growing taller, and i believe that trend will hold.

we will lose the appendix, the tailbone, and our nails.

we will lose our pinky toe

brain capacity is generally on the rise.

we will physically become weaker and weaker as reproduction becomes based on how much money we make with a desk job instead of how many animals we could hunt.

We will either cause our own extinction through technology, or avoid it. I think we will avoid it.

P.S. I'm a massive pessimist. And I hope the sinuses evolve out! No more alergies or sinus migraines! ^.^

Me too. It's spring, and the allergies are starting up again. Sinuses really are useless.

Me too. It's spring, and the allergies are starting up again. Sinuses really are useless.

Hystamine receptors too. Damn, the whole nose sucks! ^.^

I think finger nails are made of the same stuff as hair and they will stay as nails because of the protection they can afford your fingers.

But why wouldn't the entire finger (except the knuckles and joints) be covered with them? :confused: Fingernails, and toenails are strange; they probably were originally evolved to protect the fingers and toes from falling stuff and cuts, but they are now fairly weak and ineffective in this role.

Natural: if no more research into genetics and prothetics is done human will basically stay the same, those on higher/lower gravity will be shorter+broader/taller+thinner, but overall we'll stay the same.

Artificial: All genetic problems eliminated, higher baseline intellect, substitution of the pinky for an additional thumb, greater baseline physical condition.

Imaginary: Humanity shall be divided into mulitple races as artificial/bioengineered bodies are made so people can choose to become a variety of imaginary/mythological beings, from elves to dragons and beyond.

But why wouldn't the entire finger (except the knuckles and joints) be covered with them? :confused: Fingernails, and toenails are strange; they probably were originally evolved to protect the fingers and toes from falling stuff and cuts, but they are now fairly weak and ineffective in this role.

I dunno about that, when I heard the phone ring this morning I jumped up and ran to get it. On the way I bashed my toe against the door frame (I was expecting an important call). It would have been much worse but for my nails...

[edit]As for fingers not being totally covered, it would seem that they would grow into the joints (not being able to jut out like a normal nail) thus restricting movement. Interestingly whales have nails, elephants too.

Since adaptation to the environment is no longer necessary for survival, we can evolve into whatever we want. Or not evolve at all.

I think we'll either become cyborgs or merge our consciousness with machines. Or we'll develop machines that are smarter than us and let them clean our mess.

I dunno about that, when I heard the phone ring this morning I jumped up and ran to get it. On the way I bashed my toe against the door frame (I was expecting an important call). It would have been much worse but for my nails...

Yeah, they do help with stubbing. Direct impact, not as well; for example hitting with a hammer or dropping a brick or stone on your foot.

If you think evolution is correct (even in part) or incorrect what do you think (or if you don't believe in evolution what would you pretend) we are evolving to? What do you think our current lifestyles and enviroment will have us evolve to?

That isn't something that can be projected. It's largely dependent on which mutations are introduced into our genome to be then subjected to selection... and mutations are random. You can't predict which ones will occur.

That isn't something that can be projected. It's largely dependent on which mutations are introduced into our genome to be then subjected to selection... and mutations are random. You can't predict which ones will occur.

Sure you can, you just don't have a very good chance of being right. ;) C'mon! Give us your prediction, make it as far out and as whacky as you want! :)

That isn't something that can be projected. It's largely dependent on which mutations are introduced into our genome to be then subjected to selection... and mutations are random. You can't predict which ones will occur.

That's why we need a Bene Gesserit. :)

That isn't something that can be projected. It's largely dependent on which mutations are introduced into our genome to be then subjected to selection... and mutations are random. You can't predict which ones will occur.

Not entirely. If a random mutation works in the current enviroment, it will become prevalent. Therefore, with our changing envoroment, these changes could likely happen. It's already obvious with the loss of the wisdom teeth. This takes thousands of years, but it's happening.

Kurt Vonnegut is clearly right in Galapagos (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385333870/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance).

Our large brains are a threat to us and our environment.

We will be happier and have a better chance of survival when we evolve into gentle seal-like creatures with much smaller brains.


This has been a public service announcement (with guitar!)/

Do you think dogs will evolve to have an even more amicable nature?

Not entirely. If a random mutation works in the current enviroment, it will become prevalent.

But there's no means of predicting which mutations will occur in the first place. The mutation has to actually happen before natural selection can act on it.

Therefore, with our changing envoroment, these changes could likely happen.

While there are environmental factors that can impact the odds of mutations happening, there are no environmental factors that can impact the odds of WHICH mutations happen... so predicting them based on the environment is a pretty futile exercise.

[/quote]It's already obvious with the loss of the wisdom teeth. [/quote]

Sure it's obvious, because it's happening right now. As for what will happen next... that's not so easy.

On the other hand if we're just talking about the fairly limitted short term prediction of which traits which already exist will be selected for or against, well you might be able to pull that much off.

[/quote]This takes thousands of years, but it's happening.[/QUOTE]

Oh yes, of course it's happening. You just can't predict in what manner it's going to happen in the future.

You just can't predict in what manner it's going to happen in the future.

Sure you can, it probably won't be accurate, but you can predict the future. So now give us your hypothetical evolution please. :)

Humans in the developed world are getting lazier and fatter, evolving to the point where we are completely dependant on machines to do our work. Eventually, we will just die out. Now the developing world, they might survive, if we don't make them like us!

EDIT: Ok, I completely missed the second part of your post. I think we are heading to a mass extinction very soon. The Earth's ecosystem will crumble, but people being as gullable and as stupid as they are will believe the government constantly telling them "everything's fine". There will be no large-scale evacuations (the facilities won't exist and we won't have colonized other planets because people always want lower taxes!), then we'll all die. Either that or an asteroid.

I'm rather more optimistic. Certainly there will be catastrophes, probably on a global scale. But I don't think anything short of a deliberate effort could wipe Humanity out. Have you seen how stubbourn we are? We have a lot bad traits but, by God, if there's one thing we can do is cling to life. Just like every other lifeform I suppose... xD

Edit; I believe the pace of technology will far outstrip biological evolution. Think about it... in ten thousand years we have with our minds reduced the need for almost every single thing we sacrificed for our larger brains. Advances are made by the year now. One day maybe faster. Our culture now would be completely alien, but still in some faint recognisable ways Human to someone from the Sumerian Empire. In another six to eight millenia though, I don't know that we'd even recognise the life as Humans, nevermind the culture.

I'm a post-Humanist, incidentally.

Because survival of the fittest really no longer applies to us, I think that henceforth we will probably evolve at an extremely slow rate, as far more people than would survive "in the wild" do in fact survive to reproduce. I would probably not survive long enough, due to mental instability and some health issues, but because of modern "civilization," if that's the term for it, I probably will survive long enough to reproduce, if I choose to.

Wisdom teeth will probably disappear, and the current trend of growing taller will continue, most likely. Perhaps the genetic tendency toward slow metabolisms will die off, as thinner bodies, which are more easily acquired by some with naturally faster metabolisms than others, are now seen as more desirable, and therefore, people with them have a greater chance of reproducing. However, all this will happen a long long time after I'm dead.

I don't think we can evolve anymore. Many of you don't seem to have the basic understanding of evolution, that is the most environmentally fit animals pass on their genes, thus all giraffes have long legs. They grew increasingly taller because the shortest of them would die off. We humans have such a large population that tends to live to old age, even the weakest passing on their genes often in a genetically diverse environment. You can't as a population of 5 billion evolve in unison. Evolution is based on the weaker portion of a population dying off so the portion with the stronger traits lives. This works better in less diverse population with a smaller choice for a mate.

At least this was my understanding of evolution from my textbooh. Any science nuts want to correct me?

EDIT: THe whole taller thing... I'm pretty sure we owe that to the change in diet...

Wisdom teeth will probably disappear
I doubt wisdom teeth will disappear because in today's society, having wisdom teeth confers neither an evolutionary advantage nor a disadvantage to the individual. Therefore there are no selective pressures against this trait, and people with highly pronounced wisdom teeth can still pass on their genes. In the past, this was a bad trait because peoples' diets shifted and wisdom teeth often caused pain and suffering without improving chewing, but nowadays medical technology neutralizes the problems.

the current trend of growing taller will continue, most likely.
The increase in average height over the past centuries is mainly due to improved nutrition. Our "height genes" are the about the same as the height genes of prehistoric cavemen, and if those cavemen had access to good nutrition, they would have been just as tall as modern people. Therefore the current trend in increasing heights isn't much affected by evolution.

I don't think we can evolve anymore. Many of you don't seem to have the basic understanding of evolution, that is the most environmentally fit animals pass on their genes, thus all giraffes have long legs. They grew increasingly taller because the shortest of them would die off. We humans have such a large population that tends to live to old age, even the weakest passing on their genes often in a genetically diverse environment. You can't as a population of 5 billion evolve in unison. Evolution is based on the weaker portion of a population dying off so the portion with the stronger traits lives. This works better in less diverse population with a smaller choice for a mate.


Yeah, in today's civilization humans can use technology to make almost everyone's genes "equal" in the evolutionary sense. That is, virtually everyone has an opportunity to grow up, reproduce, and pass their genes on to the next generation, no matter what how "strong" their genes would be in a wilderness. This is due to improved medical technology, improved nutrition, and drastically lower child mortality rates. So the human gene pool basically stays the same.

Humans will evolve into two races, both equally horrifying.

One will be of supermodel stock--their features will be so destorted that they will be hardly recognized as humanoid, and they will all have next to no cognitive funtion.

The other will be the "middle America" breed--they will be morbidly obese (much like Jabba the Hutt) and like the supermodels, they will have next to no cognitive funtions.

Regular, nonfreakish humans will have died or been killed a long time ago.

Heh, the idea with the six fingers is funny but kinda impossible because the number of fingers can only be reduced. There were animals with six fingers (Acanthostega from the late Devonian had six fingers and eight toes each), but later animals have five fingers at maximum.

So, how would the future of human evolution look like? Well, take a look the tendencies so far: the brain size increased, the overall body size increased, the jaws have been shortened (leading to a reduction of the molars), our body hair has vastly decreased. Given that, it one would assume a race of bald four-meter-humans in the distant future. That however is unlikely to happen.
The main problem however why human evolution is inhibited is because of our globalized society. It's likely to assume that within a few hundred years, the entire human gene pool will be mixed and relatively homogenous. Thus, no potential for evolution.
However, a place where human evolution can occur is in interstellar space. Long travel times between star systems and small populations would be a good potential for new genes to become dominant in a population. Given enough time, the humans at different star systems could eventually evolve into different subspecies.
Now, so far i have been only talking about natural evolution, now, what about enforced evolution - i.e. genetic engineering. It's likely to assume that all ethical and technical barriers regarding genetic engineering will likely be overcome within the relatively near future (my guess would be it will start in 100 years or so).
What will await us then is probably something that could be dubbed the 'Second Cambrian Explosion', and we will then witness the appearance of countless new species of humans (including those with six fingers ;)), some of which may look so utterly different from us that we would regard them as aliens.
The long-term results of that SCE would remain to be seen. During the original Cambrian Explosion 530 million years ago, many of the animal phyla soon dissappeared afterwards while others survived and dominated the world for millions of years and up to the present. Thus, maybe the original humans will become extinct in the process of the SCE, or maybe they will survive only special reservations.

Talking about extinctions, humans are already in process of destroying the ecosphere, and this will probably be similar in effect to the Cretaceous/Tertiary mass extinction 65 million years ago, when 60% of all life went extinct. Or, maybe even worse (like, the Permian/Triassic mass extinction when 90% of all lifeforms ent extinct).
A recovery would take millions of years (like it did several times in the history of Earth), and things will never be the same again.
However, given enough understanding of genetic engineering, it's possible that people will eventually start 'resurrecting' the biosphere via the genetic reconstruction of extinct plant and animal species.
If you think about this even further, then even resurrected Dinosaurs and other long-since extinct animals would be also possible. Of course there would be the question how authentic they'd be, but well... who knows.

So, those are my thoughts on the topic, enjoy. :)

What will await us then is probably something that could be dubbed the 'Second Cambrian Explosion', and we will then witness the appearance of countless new species of humans (including those with six fingers ;)), some of which may look so utterly different from us that we would regard them as aliens.


how about 'Holocene Explosion'? :)

and i believe ive heard something about a rare gene for a sixth finger.
however, i have no idea whether its functional, or just a nub/skinflap

I like to imagine that we are evolving towards becoming bodies of light

However, a place where human evolution can occur is in interstellar space. Long travel times between star systems and small populations would be a good potential for new genes to become dominant in a population. Given enough time, the humans at different star systems could eventually evolve into different subspecies.


Long interstellar voyages would also increase exposure to radiation, which, if I'm not mistaken, is the cause of mutations that lead to evolution, thus speeding up or enhancing the process.

Humans will evolve into two races, both equally horrifying.

One will be of supermodel stock--their features will be so destorted that they will be hardly recognized as humanoid, and they will all have next to no cognitive funtion.

The other will be the "middle America" breed--they will be morbidly obese (much like Jabba the Hutt) and like the supermodels, they will have next to no cognitive funtions.

It'll be funny when the "middle Americans" start hunting down the "models" for food.