Human evolution

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Daniel's picture
Human evolution

I have a question and hope to get some insight on it. Natural selection has played a role in producing homo sapiens, but can our species evolve further? I ask this because currently the poorest and least educated populations produce the most offspring in Western societies. If this trend continues won't we DEvolve as a species? I'm not highly educated myself and dont know of any studies concerning this. What, if anything, have you heard?

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Daniel's picture
Oh, just in case anyone is

Oh, just in case anyone is thinking I support eugenics or other abysmal ideologies, I dont. Just wondering if upward evolution is possible under current conditions

CyberLN's picture
There is no such thing as

There is no such thing as devolution. Change is change. We are the ones who have placed value on those changes. Nature doesn't give a shit.

Daniel's picture
CyberLN. I get your point but

CyberLN. I get your point but the word devolution just helps to distinguish between changes that are helpful to the species from changes that are not. Still wondering if positive changes are possible under current conditions.

Nyarlathotep's picture
Even defining what is helpful

Even defining what is helpful and what is not to a species is pretty much impossible; your whole concept of positive changes is problematic.

Furthermore; changes that you might be tempted to label as helpful today, could be lethal tomorrow.

CyberLN's picture
Change is not an evolutionary

Change is not an evolutionary constant nor is it required by nature. Think in terms of the horseshoe crab. You may be making an assumption that sapiens will continue to change. We may not.

Daniel's picture
Yeah, I was just wondering 1)

Yeah, I was just wondering 1) if change was possible under current circumstances 2) in what ways could humans evolve we did. I get the point that we can't say for sure what a positive change would be. Although we can't know for sure, some changes may have a higher chance to be useful, and some educated guesses as to what they may be would be interesting.

algebe's picture
Humans are first species with

Humans are first species with the ability to intervene deliberately in its own evolution through DNA manipulation and cloning, etc. That's a major wildcard in the game of evolution. It could ensure our long-term survival, or it could destroy us.

Daniel's picture
DNA manipulation seems both

DNA manipulation seems both interesting and frightening. One area that could be in the process of evolving is the frontal lobes of the brain. This is one of the newest parts of the brain and is still poorly connected. For example, the limbic system is older and has more connections to the rest of the brain. This is the emotional center and may explain why we often act out of emotion rather than reason. If (when?) the frontal lobes build more connections we may more easily make quick decisions based on reason rather than emotion because the frontal lobes are responsible for rational thought. Yes, I am aware that quick decisions based on emotion have been necessary for our survival in the past, but I wonder if we are in an age when we could benefit from better connected frontal lobes? Yes, I know this is all quite speculative, and I ask for your patience with my less than concise writing. I've never been able to converse with a group of mostly intelligent people. I look forward to hearing from you.

algebe's picture
FreefromGod "I wonder if we

FreefromGod "I wonder if we are in an age when we could benefit from better connected frontal lobes?"

I'm not sure what kind of animals we'd be with enhanced lobes. We wouldn't be entirely human, and perhaps we'd be cut off from understanding our emotional legacy, as embodied in art, music and literature. On the bright side, we'd probably be immune from religion, which seems to depend on our ability to compartmentalize our believing minds from our rational minds.

Daniel's picture
Yes, I wouldn't want to lose

Yes, I wouldn't want to lose the benefits of emotion. The limbic system would still be as strong as ever, we would just have stronger rational capabilities. Only, I'm not sure such an evolutionary change is possible under current circumstances, and I would be wary of DNA manipulation to create such a change.

LogicFTW's picture
To answer your original

To answer your original question how you really framed it:

Being poor and uneducated is not really a genetic thing, it is much more an environmental thing. There is not really any genetic difference between poor and uneducated and the rich/educated.

The poor and uneducated have more kids because they frequently do not have as much access to birth control, women often times face major economic security if not married to a man, and the culture (religion!) and the lack of education pushes having large families.

Everyone rich and poor had lots of kids before modern contraceptives, elderly care and health care. In the past it was required for survival to have kids take care and feed you when you got too old to do the hard physical labor that 95+ % of society was involved in before the advent of machines.

Our evolution will not change much as a result of declining birth rates in first world countries, but demographics sure will. I believe islams/muslims will overtake christianity as most populous religion I think within the next 50 years or so, in large part because of this.

mykcob4's picture
Humans do evolve everyday.

Humans do evolve everyday. The biggest evolution is behavior or social change. The future can never be predicted with certainty but given the past decades, humankind is bound for more drastic change.
There have been major turning points in history.
I wonder what the next one will be. We describe this changes as "revolutions" although they rarely involve a revolution. They usually involve an innovation.
I think that physically humans will evolve to cope with environmental pressures.
Global warming, water sources shrinking, and a major adaption to living in space or maybe other planets.

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