Im confused as to why you perceive a heightening intelligence and higher brain functions, resulting in physical condition weakening as the body and physical properties are less important, as an indication we are not evolving?
Is the human race devolving?
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Im confused as to why you perceive a heightening intelligence and higher brain functions, resulting in physical condition weakening as the body and physical properties are less important, as an indication we are not evolving?
To survive and reproduce yes, nowadays to survive and reproduce we need to become intellegent at newer things. Someone able to throw a spear the furthest is generally not going to survive in a world of computers.
Is this thread just going to end up a "lazy scroungers are taking our money and making society crap" one?
I don't think anything can "devolve", it's just a different form of evolution..
this tbh...
Physically we'll perhaps not progress much or we'll end up with a much more diverse population with lower class/lower income people being much more obese.
IQ is another issue, if your parents have a high IQ then chances are you will too. There is also a strong correlation between IQ and earnings. Chavs etc.. tend to have more kids so perhaps the average IQ of the population as a whole could actually decrease slightly at some point.
Its not unrealistic that we'll end up with less social mobility in future. Could quite easily end up with a divided society with the people at the bottom basically being fat and stupid. If it carried on for a very long period then the human race could split - effectively fat chavs would become a different species entirely.
Interesting topic.
I was thinking this the other day, with modern medicine people with genetic diseases who would have died can now breed. Although it would be morally wrong of us to stop them from breeding in this day and age, the fact is they are still genetically inferior and if we did stop them breeding then the human race "could" improve as long as the gene pool is kept varied. Eugenics would give interesting results if it was put into place, it could even be possible to breed out genetic diseases especially with our ability to read DNA now.
I was thinking this the other day, with modern medicine people with genetic diseases who would have died can now breed. Although it would be morally wrong of us to stop them from breeding in this day and age, the fact is they are still genetically inferior and if we did stop them breeding then the human race "could" improve as long as the gene pool is kept varied. Eugenics would give interesting results if it was put into place, it could even be possible to breed out genetic diseases especially with our ability to read DNA now.
Im confused as to why you perceive a heightening intelligence and higher brain functions, resulting in physical condition weakening as the body and physical properties are less important, as an indication we are not evolving?
Because some people don't understand what evolution actually is.
Anyway, I think this has more holes in it than swiss cheese would be my point.
But by all means, you postulate away..
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Anyway, I think this has more holes in it than swiss cheese would be my point.
But by all means, you postulate away..
I shall.
Goodbye.
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Im confused as to why you perceive a heightening intelligence and higher brain functions, resulting in physical condition weakening as the body and physical properties are less important, as an indication we are not evolving?
Where did I say I thought that? It's a point of view that some may have. If there's evidence that humans are actually getting more intelligent, as opposed to it just being down to improved educational resources, then let's hear it.
Fittest actually now means "pretty much anyone with access to healthcare", which means that the gene pool will eventually be full of retards and mutants imo
I think it has already happened judging by a lot of people in GD
As for my actual opinion: We will see regression to the mean if there are no particular selective pressures introduced for any particular traits - we get what is otherwise known as a stabilising selection. Essentially that means the most commonly seen traits today will become more and more prolific where the most extreme or unusual traits (either very high levels of intelligence, very low levels of intelligence, great physical ability, sub-par physical ability) will become increasingly rare.
To survive and reproduce yes, nowadays to survive and reproduce we need to become intellegent at newer things. Someone able to throw a spear the furthest is generally not going to survive in a world of computers.
Is this thread just going to end up a "lazy scroungers are taking our money and making society crap" one?
intellgent at what? you can start humping babies into any willing woman tomorrow, you can produce baby after baby, you dont need to work, be inteligent, you dont even need to look after them jsut dump them in the street and someone will look after it...
and for a woman its even easier buy some jizz off the internet and use a turky baster.. push out a kid then give it away... wash and repeat... (obviosly a man could bung a baby in several women at a time and pass on more of his genes...)
its not going to be the same in all countries but it will be the same for most western countries....
the only evolutionary factor is the willingness to reproduce in large numbers...
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As long as I get a good superpower, I'm happy.
I won't be putting up with anything less than telekinesis
I won't be putting up with anything less than telekinesis
This is true but it COULD become a major problem. I was reading some science journals not long ago about the joining of man and machine and the future it holds for humanity.
We're ultimately heading toward a new immortal lifespan with cell regeneration, organ regeneration and mechanical implants + the recent (and working) research of microprocessor implants into the human body. One scientist managed to infect himself with a (controlled)computer virus for example.
Nanobots made from DNA have been cultured to do pre-programmed duties and many other amazing things are being done right now in the labs of crazy researchers.
My vision of the (not our lifetime of course) Human future is where humans still exist but it's going to grow ever so difficult to distinguish what is human and what is part machine - kind of like the Ghost In The Shell series (check it out, it's amazing but very long and pretty complex at times).
After this point it only leads one way, the evolution of AI.
GitS, Terminator, it will all be reality one day and tot think, if I said that a decade ago when today's research and technology wasn't actively working toward that end, people would have laughed!
We are evolving, but in many different ways in many different directions.
Parts of the human race are becoming smarter, some are getting faster(Usain), taller, stronger etc etc. Some are getting fatter..
In terms of health and disease. I remember watching those documentaries on the slums of Mumbai. Walking round, living and even rummaging through absolute filth. I'm certain most of us would just die of diease if we live there for more than a couple of months. But they all looked perfectly healthy with nice bright white teeth.
Parts of the human race are becoming smarter, some are getting faster(Usain), taller, stronger etc etc. Some are getting fatter..
In terms of health and disease. I remember watching those documentaries on the slums of Mumbai. Walking round, living and even rummaging through absolute filth. I'm certain most of us would just die of diease if we live there for more than a couple of months. But they all looked perfectly healthy with nice bright white teeth.
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i agree, but this is a minefield morally. people use will use argumentam ad hitleram at you and it is very hard to debate it. sad that. it'll take many more years to repair the damage the nazi's have done in the so called name of eugenics.
That's more a discussion on society than evolution. Yes they are linked but not to the extent you are suggesting.