MrCastle Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 You hear about us being in the "information" age. Technology is advancing exponentially. I think where back in the caveman days, brawn was how you survived, I think going forward, it's gonna be brains. Jobs which don't require much thinking are being taken over by machines. Jobs that were mostly manual labor are also being replaced by machines. Are we still evolving? Is it in our nature to always evolve? Will we ever reach a maximum point or will this continue for as long as humans are in existence? Link to post Share on other sites
sillyanswer Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Are we still evolving? Random thoughts: In the sense of "changing as a species" then I'll go with "yes". (for example, there's more interracial reproduction than there used to be. Source: I made this up but it might be true) In the sense of selecting the fittest mates, I'll go with "no". (for example, modern medicine means that all sorts of unhealthy people now survive to breeding age who previously would not have had the chance, and you can't tell by looking at them. Source: I made this up, too, but I'm more sure of it than the other thing.) There tends to be an association that more evolved means better, which I think is a misuse or misunderstanding of the term. Link to post Share on other sites
will1988 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I am going to get a tone flack for this one... We as a species are evolving of course. However, we are evolving too slowly, IMO. I think if mankind wants to evolve a little faster, they may want to embrace some form of eugenics (which would mean giving up some freedoms). Although, I am (mostly) against eugenics, I belive that with stupid people being able to breed and drain the system we as a species are staring over the edge in to the abyss. De-evolution, IMO is a problem we are facing. Think about, instead of reading and expanding ones' mind, we are watching TV and playing video games. Instead of running around outside, we are playing video games and watching tv and tweeting on our computers. This is a problem that the current youth are going through, and it will continue to get worse. They want to be spoon fed entertainment. They do not want to explore the mind or the world around them. A good example of this, is go to any Battlefield (in the states, Bull Run [Manasses], Gettysburg etc...) where history abounds. Now walk in to the book store. What do you see? Lots of books on the history, but even more books on the ghosts, and those are always the ones that sell. Sure I like a good ghost story myself, but it ticks me off that people are more interested in being spooked and entertained rather than embracing the history and learning something. The bookstore employees all say that the ghosts books sell the best. Another example of de-evolution, is the amount of violence that is taking place. Sure, we had wars, killers etc... throughout history. However, we did not have the mass amount of sensless violence that we have today. This has nothing to do with inter-racial mixing or only breeding with ones own race, but rather how the current culture is affecting children and how it will affect their children etc... Also, the fact that people are allowed to have children but can't takecare of them and end up sucking the taxpayers teet dry is a problem for me. My two cents. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
will1988 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I agree with you will, it's not just the mental aspect though. It's physical problems as well, born with a genetic defect that rendered you blind by 25? Almost a 100% chance your children will inherit it? Oh no, you can't say he should maybe really, really consider not procreating. Born with a heart and pair of lungs that couldn't sustain a comatose toddler without medical assistance? Go ahead and have kids. Every woman in your family has to seriously consider a full double mastectomy by 25 or be practically guaranteed to develop breast cancer by 30? No problem, don't you dare suggest she adopt, what kind of monster are you? Before anyone gets on my nuts, the only person in my family to die under 85 years of age for the last two generations died in a car crash. I'm 100% with you, but the rest of the world would see to it that we would be locked away or vilified if we every went public with these sort of statements. sigh. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I think we are devolving. Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) Yes we are evolving. We are getting taller, heavier, and certain traits/skills are being favored. We are also be affected by chemicals in our environment – just look at the stories on “estrogen like” chemicals causing earlier development of young girls, and negative impacts on fertility in men. On the one hand, the point is made that medical science (drugs, surgery, cosmetic surgery) can be used to mask or hide defects, and present a “false” desirability – leading to continued reproduction of people who in the long ago history might not have made it. Alternatively - to a certain extent a mild form of eugenics is already available in limited fashion. It is called pre genetic diagnostics (PGD), or pre genetic screening (PGS). We are now able to start identifying genes responsibility for certain inherited defects and diseases. Once that gene is identified, we can use it as part of advanced IVF procedures to implant only those embryos without that defect. This technique is also commonly used for older couples to avoid the possibility of downs syndrome and other genetic defects that come with having children at an older age. This technique has been also used (with controversy) to preselect the sex. It is a simple step (but not allowed) to go to the next stage and begin to more highly filter, or even modify the genes to produce non-medical based improvements. Then of course we have the amazing biomedical devices that are beginning to be implanted, worn, or integrated into our bodies. Yes – bionic man/women or “the borg” is here, resistance is futile........ Now where did I put my Google glasses – I can’t function properly without those darn things. I look forward to Homosapiens 2.0. Edited July 19, 2013 by dichotomy Link to post Share on other sites
sweetjasmine Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Are we still evolving? Is it in our nature to always evolve? Yes, of course. How would you even stop evolution? This is why it drives me nuts when people drag out the evo psych caveman arguments. As if human beings haven't changed in the past ten thousand years. Change and disorder are the true universal constants. Will we ever reach a maximum point or will this continue for as long as humans are in existence? There is no maximum point. There's good and bad with every step of the way. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sweetjasmine Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 When it comes to the significance of a timespan 10,000 years is to evolution as blinking ones eyes is to the average human life span. Insignificant to the highest degree. Not in the slightest. If this were the case, we wouldn't have chihuahuas and Great Danes descended from the same proto-dog ancestor. And as far as humans are concerned, it's pretty well-established that certain adaptations, such as lactose tolerance and immunity to certain diseases, developed after the agricultural revolution. The fact that the agricultural revolution led to everything we see today alone points to 10,000 years not being "insignificant to the highest degree." The differences between Homo sapiens from 10,000 years ago and Homo sapiens of today aren't as large as the differences between a protist and a chimpanzee, but that doesn't make 10,000 years of evolution in one species "insignificant to the highest degree." 1 Link to post Share on other sites
tbf Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Sure but evolutionary forces take millennia to be observable. Link to post Share on other sites
Eggplant Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Another example of de-evolution, is the amount of violence that is taking place. Sure, we had wars, killers etc... throughout history. However, we did not have the mass amount of sensless violence that we have today. I am not so sure that we didn't have the violence that we have today. One history book I read in the last year proposed that humans as a species have always been extremely violent. Clans would roam about massacring other groups of people, murdering, stealing, kidnapping, and raping. The book suggested that modern-day holocausts are not new phenomena. Link to post Share on other sites
Eggplant Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I think where back in the caveman days, brawn was how you survived, I think going forward, it's gonna be brains. Well brawn has never been human beings' specialty. That's the arena of lions, tigers, bears, and gorillas. I wonder why, if we evolved from apes, we got weaker. There must have been some energy cost to building all that brawn that the other animals have that we traded for brains. Otherwise, why wouldn't we have both? The cavemen couldn't win in a one-on-one fight with a saber-tooth tiger. They might cleverly band together in groups, invent weapons, and out-smart the beast. My guess is that brawn in humans has served us mostly as a way to defend ourselves against other human beings. If you're smart enough to outwit the tiger, but not strong enough to defend yourself against the psycho killer, you're toast. And I think this dynamic will continue on, although fire-arms have changed the game a little (so maybe you're right -- technology renders brawn less useful). 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author MrCastle Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 I am not so sure that we didn't have the violence that we have today. One history book I read in the last year proposed that humans as a species have always been extremely violent. Clans would roam about massacring other groups of people, murdering, stealing, kidnapping, and raping. The book suggested that modern-day holocausts are not new phenomena. I think sadly, mass murdering is easier nowadays. Weapons are more advanced. Which is why when people talk about the constitutional right to bare arms, I'm always like "yeah...they wrote that back when they had muskets. Not high powered assault rifles that fire a hundred rounds in under 10 seconds." Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Yes we are still evolving. We finally have elected a "black" president and more and more states are legalizing same sex marriage. Australia even recently had a prime minister who is a known Atheist. Technology aside peoples minds are slowly opening up more and more. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Yes we are still evolving. We finally have elected a "black" president and more and more states are legalizing same sex marriage. Australia even recently had a prime minister who is a known Atheist. Technology aside peoples minds are slowly opening up more and more. And the Zimmerman trial shows how far behind we actually are on race and civil rights issues. Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 And the Zimmerman trial shows how far behind we actually are on race and civil rights issues. but we still have evolved from the time before the 1960s. It is a snails pace but it is progress. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 but we still have evolved from the time before the 1960s. It is a snails pace but it is progress. Laws have been passed but attitudes deep down really have not changed. Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Laws have been passed but attitudes deep down really have not changed. You should go live on a deserted island. You'd be much happier. Quit interacting with society so much if you are such a Debbie Downer about it. No one is arguing that certain aspects of society are garbage, but if America can vote in Obama (and possibly Hillary in next election) and if states can pass laws to allow same sex couples to wed then that is enough evidence for me to show that we are evolving more so than devolving. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 You should go live on a deserted island. You'd be much happier. Quit interacting with society so much if you are such a Debbie Downer about it. No one is arguing that certain aspects of society are garbage, but if America can vote in Obama (and possibly Hillary in next election) and if states can pass laws to allow same sex couples to wed then that is enough evidence for me to show that we are evolving more so than devolving. At least the south hasn't changed much. It's the truth. There are parts of the country where it is still like the Jim Crow era when you dig beneath the surface. Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 At least the south hasn't changed much. It's the truth. There are parts of the country where it is still like the Jim Crow era when you dig beneath the surface. Nobody said that society is perfect. Sounds like you are expecting perfection...or close to it. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Nobody said that society is perfect. Sounds like you are expecting perfection...or close to it. I don't expect perfection but in 2013 we shouldn't be having a large number of people who think it's okay to kill an unarmed teenager because he was wearing a hoodie. Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I don't expect perfection but in 2013 we shouldn't be having a large number of people who think it's okay to kill an unarmed teenager because he was wearing a hoodie. Nor should we have a disgruntled 20 year shoot up an Elementary School but it still happened. With the good comes the bad but we are far from the times of owning people by law and 'colored people' not able to ever be part of public office. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Nor should we have a disgruntled 20 year shoot up an Elementary School but it still happened. With the good comes the bad but we are far from the times of owning people by law and 'colored people' not able to ever be part of public office. That is because we have certain people in power who forced those changes. Leave it up to the people and we would still have slavery and no I am not exaggerating. Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 That is because we have certain people in power who forced those changes. Leave it up to the people and we would still have slavery and no I am not exaggerating. That would be called anarchy. Do you really expect anything positive from that? Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 That would be called anarchy. Do you really expect anything positive from that? No I don't which is why I don't think most things should be left to other people. Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 No I don't which is why I don't think most things should be left to other people. What are you even talking about now? Link to post Share on other sites
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