Will the Human Race evolve and branch into two different species?

[Ultim]

@Dalph : Well,If we'll have smaller brains,who will invent those super-computers ?! Or the inventer will be the only guy who will have at least some brains ?

And,I agree on the second one.There's already that mission to Mars.I think it'll be in 2020 or something like that.

 

[Galenmereth]

No it isn't. It's a theory that has never been proven.

YOU may have descended from apes. I sure didn't

Ehm, there is plenty of pretty good evidence. Sure we can't be 100% sure without a time machine, but let's look at what we do have:

http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution

There's way more to find, but let's not dismiss all this research so quickly.

Evolution takes millions of years. Humans will have to find a way to live together in spaceships before we'll get a chance to grow cat ears and fairy wings.

 

[Dalph]

@Ultim1337Gamer:

Obviously this is a silly joke. XDDD

If we want to keep joking I believe that the supercomputers will be created from time to time during our evolution phases, they will become more and more complex\advanced and we will become less and less smart (because of our laziness and dependency to them). Eventually the machines will become sentient in future (and able to upgrade\improve themselves without our help) and they will probably enslave us all taking control of the whole planet.

ohhh...I just had a good idea for a sci-fi game, ahahah

And yes, the colonization of Mars will be a possibility in future, at least this is what NASA says.

 

[Galenmereth]

@Dalph: http://www.mars-one.com/ 2023

 

[Ultim]

@Dalph : There are already Super-Computers now.And I don't depend on stuff to do stuff for me.Maybe in 2050 i'll be one of the few not enslaved by machines lol.

@Galenmereth : That's it.I read it in a magazine 3 months ago,so I didn't remember the EXACT year.

 

[Galenmereth]

@Ultim1337Gamer: You do depend on machines more than you know. Your computer was partially assembled by machines, and most of its components were produced by machines. All programmed by humans, of course, but still. Using RPG Maker means less work for you and more for your computer, since you don't write the engine from scratch. This again means you let the machine do a lot of your work. Same goes for using websites (dropbox vs setting up your own ftp server, for example), your phone vs physically travelling to check up on people, etc etc. Your life depends much more on machines than you think

 

[Ultim]

@Galenmereth : Yes it does.Good thinking dude.

 

[byrdbones]

Hopefully into ninja vampires!

 

[whitesphere]

I've heard that some scientist predicted how humans would evolve:

- Greater brain capacity, resulting in expanded cranium (sorry, ladies who somehow have to squeeze that out!)

- Pupils expanding to take over the entire eyeball

- Eyes expanding to handle darkness more effectively

- Bodies becoming taller and thinner

When he ran a computer simulation, the eerie prediction shows that in 100,000 years humans look exactly like what a lot of "alien" abduction victims claim.

So, it could be an unknown number of alien abductions are really time travelling humans from the far future, who've come to understand their own evolutionary forebearers.  I imagine at least some of us would do the same if we had time travelling technology available today.

As for current day humans detecting them?  Um, no.  I imagine such advanced beings, if they were here, and I believe they might be, could wear a "meatsuit" body which is perfectly indistinguishable from a current day human.   After all, if we can use costumes today for disguise, what kind of technology might humans develop across the millennia?

As for the "Why haven't they revealed themselves?"  Think what would happen to current day human societies.  The people who can't handle change well, or who live in very insular worlds?  Having those smashed open would be devastating, at the very least.   People who are racist would find ripe new targets.  Those who value predictability (i.e. a LOT of people in finance/stocks) would go nuts, causing major economic chaos, and so on.

The same things would happen if time travelling humans from the far future revealed themselves, perhaps even more so.

I just find aliens a fascinating topic of discussion and it seemed closely related to the original topic.

 

[GrandmaDeb]

Lemurs, folks, lemurs;not apes, whether you buy into the argument or not. =]

And ninja vampires.... well now we are heading on the right track...

Immense, boiling clouds of radiant light and outbreaks of particle-filled, irridescent smoke cover the Earth after the greatest conflict known to man. Out of the chaos, mankind bands together in small groups, some eventually finding survival with other groups, others in constant conflict.

And yet, mankind has changed. Some no longer are able to bear children with the females in the groups they reside with. These restless souls now wander the earth, searching for the answer - who are they? What are they?

Paranormal fans - insert your answer here!!!!!

 

[SoulPour777]

I am sure that I'm no ape and a human who never evolved into an ape though. Those are just Darwin's BS. If you claim that you came from an ape, make sure that you can transform into an Oozaru or you're a Saiyan

 

[Galenmereth]

@SoulPour777 That's not how evolution works mate. Might help reading up on the topic some more.

 

[Imploded Tomato]

If the Human Race colonizes different planets to live on after millions and millions of years of stability and evolution, will Humanity diverge into a separate race of beings due to harsh climate changes? It is interesting to see all your replies and opinions, thank all of you for participating in this topic.

 

[whitesphere]

If the Human Race colonizes different planets to live on after millions and millions of years of stability and evolution, will Humanity diverge into a separate race of beings due to harsh climate changes? It is interesting to see all your replies and opinions, thank all of you for participating in this topic.

If humans decided to colonize other planets, the people who land would probably HAVE to be changed biochemically in order to survive on the native flora and fauna, to say nothing of how our many beneficial bacteria would need to be modified so we could survive.  Without those bacteria, we could not digest food, our skin would be covered in dust (a.k.a. dead skin cells) and mold and so on.

I think that, even if humanity landed on a literal Planet of Eden, the colonists who landed there would have been modified biochemically enough so they would no longer qualify as the same species (i.e. unable to interbreed).

Think about how ill people can become, even today, when they venture to a different area of our planet, and fail to prepare sufficiently for the native conditions, and imagine trying to inhabit a new biosphere.  Or trying to terraform an empty planet into a sustainable ecosystem?  If you thought it was difficult to establish a salt water aquarium (essentially a miniature world), imagine making a self-sufficient, human compatible ecosystem, when we barely understand a tiny fraction of how this one works?

That's why I think it's more reasonable people would have to be genetically modified to survive on even the friendliest of other worlds, rather than trying to shoehorn our ecosystem onto another world.  The former is incredibly difficult, the latter nearly impossible (and requires a far more in depth knowledge of ecosystems than we have).

 

[Solo]

I've heard that some scientist predicted how humans would evolve:

- Greater brain capacity, resulting in expanded cranium (sorry, ladies who somehow have to squeeze that out!)

- Pupils expanding to take over the entire eyeball

- Eyes expanding to handle darkness more effectively

- Bodies becoming taller and thinner

When he ran a computer simulation, the eerie prediction shows that in 100,000 years humans look exactly like what a lot of "alien" abduction victims claim.

So, it could be an unknown number of alien abductions are really time travelling humans from the far future, who've come to understand their own evolutionary forebearers.  I imagine at least some of us would do the same if we had time travelling technology available today.

Too much Ancient Aliens, friend.

 

[SoulPour777]

Is it only me but I find Ancient Aliens amusingly BS.

 

[monkeyintartan]

I think something has been missed here.

Humans will in my opinion never evolve in to Two different sub groups or evolve much in my opinion.

Yes I think we as a species will become smarter and obviously genetics dictates that the stronger genes will persevere however there comes a point where our intelligence has hampered our own evolution. We as a species no longer need to "adapt" to our environment regardless of what environment that is. We do not need to learn to breath underwater and evolve to have that ability because to put it simple instead of our species evolving to become stronger and live in our environment we simple change the environment suite us.

We are creating situations where the weaker genes are being catered for with medicines. The fact we fight illness , we fight cancer. Natural selection would normal kill off those in a species who develop these illness or in time evolve to no longer be effected by them through stronger genes prevailing.

No natural evolution will take place in humans purely because we have the power to change what nature has given us. If humans were to evolve in anyway now it would be in an unnatural way where we have changed our own DNA. Just like cosmetic surgery if you want to change it you do. That's what humans do.

Mutations in the DNA have occurred and intense training can adapt changes in our bodies but can these really be called evolution.?

The world record for holding your breath underwater is over 20 minuets. That was achieved through training the mind and body.

It is documented that some people can survive high electric currents, or their brains are wired a different way allowing them to recall memories as if they were a picture or movie.

I believe that if we progress as a race now it will be because mutations occur we study them and force the change upon our self's either genetically or the use of nano technology giving us the bodies and abilities we want.

 

[Alexander Amnell]

Is it only me but I find Ancient Aliens amusingly BS.

It's not just you; some of the ideas that are brought forth in that show and the absolute absurdity that is used to link them together is hilarious. I doubt the show would have made it to the end of one season off of the veiwership of those that take it seriously alone. (at least, I choose to believe that is the case.)

   As for the thread question, depending on your definition of 'species' that has arguably already happened. While there are animals of the same species that have adapted naturally and science acknowledges that there are also different species of similar animal that while scientifically defined as a separate species, are genetically more similar to each other than different genus of human are today. With the concept of evolution being as relatively new as it is coupled with human arrogance the actual scientific variance between adaptation and evolution is kind of questionable. What I find most interesting is that such topics as this always turn into 'is evolution correct' a three-sided argument between those that reject it completely regardless of any evidence to the contrary, those that tout science as the end all be all theory of the universe and those that are willing to admit that they are to young and the universe to old for them to possibly understand it's workings, and stake their faith on no Dogma, whether the ideal of a creator or blind belief in a theory that hasn't as of yet come anywhere close to proving itself law under the scientific method. Some people just have to be right I guess, I just like delving into the theories.

   I do believe, however that if we do come to 'evolve' it will be self persisted long before it comes to the point of a natural implementation. A lot of strides have already been made in that direction, especially in the medical field; which causes one to wonder how long it would take to actually accomplish altering the human physiology in a positive manner if actual resources were placed towards making that a reality, rather than the strides made by happenstance while trying to discover ways to keep people alive longer. Not to mention the fact that we even make such strides in keeping the sick alive negates one of the core ideas of natural selection, assuming it is in reality a scientific law, and the chances of natural evolution at this point become next to none. Then again if people tried to actively adjust such things, we'd probably cause problems as well. Such as what some have said in this thread on the idea of having better night vision. The adverse of this, is that with enhanced night vision our daytime vision would likely deteriorate. One sees more in darkness as the pupils enlarge, allowing us to take in more light, if this ability were enhanced it would likely cause light sensitivity and enhanced glare during daytime hours, which is likely a contributor to why most animals known for having keen night vision tend to be nocturnal, because they are out of their element during daylight as much as their prey are at night.

   Fascinating discussion topic, as long as those involved choose to keep it in the realm of theory and not try to claim omniscience over universal laws from the perspective of a species that's only had recorded history for a few thousand years and who's latest of many theories on universal origin barely dates back 100 years. The arrogance of our narrow perceptions is in itself a fascinating topic, but one for another thread.

Edit: My whole relative point to this thread was ninja'd away from me while I wasted time in a tangent, damn my wandering mind.

 

[Solo]

Is it only me but I find Ancient Aliens amusingly BS.

I liked the part where the one guy (David Childress?) said he thinks the moon is a Death Star. You know... like the one from Star Wars.


That said, the show is absolutely fantastic food for your imagination. And I do like the bits of history you get, like that underground city in Turkey, or the stone garden (Maro Asi? Know I butchered the spelling) in South America where they say a mystical electromagnetic energy can be tangibly felt (I actually wanted to go there, lol).


Also they said that the Great Pyramid was an ancient power plant, and that obelisks are acupuncture points in the earth that could relay energy like some Tesla device (forgive me for forgetting the name), possibly powering appliances and machinery for the ancient world, which disappeared over time leaving only the stone ruins of these ancient civilizations, because "only stone stands the test of time."

 

[hian]

Seriously, what's with the creationism and complete scientifically illiterate ramblings on this forum?

Firstly, this is what evolution actually is:

- Evolution is a scientific theory - no, that does not mean you get to say "just a theory" and dismiss it. Gravity is also "just a theory".

- Evolution by natural selection is by far one the best established and corroborated scientific theories we have in all of science.

- Evolution as a theory which is used constantly to predict behavior in the natural world with great success, in order to further progress in a lot of different fields, including medicine(such as in virus research).

Secondly, evolution does not say "we come from apes", it says that all humans share common ancestry with the other primates, and that would be correct.

Whether you think you're a primate or not, is irrelevant, because that's what we are by definition. That's what the word means. It's a classification of a certain number of animals(and yes humans are animals, nothing wrong with that) with a certain amount of similarities in terms of the genetical, and biological traits.

What people may believe or feel is irrelevant. It doesn't change the fact that we do share the traits we do, with other primates.

Finally, people need to stop bringing up Darwin in this. Darwin formulated the basic ideas of evolution, but this theory has been extrapolated upon, advanced, and (dare I say it) evolved since it was first formulated over a 100 years ago.

The true scientific consensus and common acceptance of evolution wasn't to be until the early-mid 20th century with the modern evolutionary synthesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_evolutionary_synthesis

Trying to point to Darwin for anything at this point is completely redundant and out of touch with the reality of scientific progress.

It's the equivalent of trying to dismiss the entire field of psychology by pointing to outdated ideas that originated with Freud.

NO. There has never been any solid evidence of an animal/human evoling above or adding to their genetic code. This would be a necesary qualification to produce another species. Otherwise we will only change within our genetic code while losing parts of it as we reproduce, producing what we have today, Humans that are different because of the changes limited by their genetic code. Humans will always be able to change within their genetic code(change hair color, eye color, height ect. between each person), but not add on to it(Evovle into having another eye or something like that). Maybe i over thought this?

Wrong.

There is ridiculous amounts of evidence that proves evolution. Look it up.

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_50

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_48

Given the right amount of time, humans too, will evolve, like every other piece of life under the sun.

I would disagree. I am a creationist, and i believe in microevolution, not macroebolution. Most people don't know the difference. There is lots of evidence for microevolution, but not much for macroevolution. Darwin actually observed(kind of) microevolution and the helped him come up with his theroy. Back then there was no difference between mavro and micro evolution. Evidence for micro evolution is often used for ec\vidence for macroevolution. You should listen to the debate between Ken Ham, and Bill Nye.

Macro-evolution is what you get when you have 3.8 Billion years of micro-evolution.

Some of the evidence for macro-evolution is the fact of micro-evolution is combination with our mapping of genetics, knowledge of shared traits, and knowledge of the age of the earth. And that's just a breakdown of the general gist of the issue by a lay-person.

Here is a proper breakdown of the evidence:

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/

What most people should do, is read biology textbooks, and read up on the theory of evolution. Not waste time on listening to religious talking-points made by people who don't understand the subject.

@OP:

Will humanity evolve into two different species?

Given enough time humans will evolve into many different species, unless we wipe each other out first through war and poor resource management, or if we're wiped out by external factors like solar flares, meteors, local natural disasters and so forth.

There is no reason to assume will diverge into just two specific species.

Another real possibility is that facilitate our own evolution. With the advances in genetical engineering and so forth, it is quite possible that we will at some point make changes to ourselves, and that this will become so common that finally, no natural humans will be left.