I'm a Heroes addict. There! I said it. I love reading comics too. Superhero stuff and anything sci-fi easily gets my attention and scratches that mental itch for things beyond the realm of the ordinary. Why? I suppose I'm one of those nutjobs that think humans haven't reached an evolutionary dead end yet. However, i'm also open-minded enough to admit that the exact opposite may just as well be true.
I'm going to try to give some (hopefully) valid and reasonable arguments for each side. Hopefully, that should give my brain a decent work-out while I'm blogging... :)
Ok, I'm now one of the "homo sapiens has reached an evolutionary dead-end" theorists. Here goes...
Some think that we have already reached a point where we physically can't evolve anymore. Our brains have reached a point that we now have the natural ability (keyword = "imagination") to create and invent things we need. To illustrate, if you can't reach that fruit hanging on the branch, you don't have to wait for your body to evolve longer limbs or for you to sprout wings. Just get a ladder (or wooden pole with a hook at one end) and there you go! If we believe that "necessity is the mother of invention", physical evolution of our species is no longer necessary since we can invent what we need to survive. Our creativity has given us the means to change our environment to suit our needs instead of the other way around. We can now thrive in the most inhospitable places on earth due of our marvelous brains. Take the Eskimos for example: They have shown how man can live at extreme temperatures without the need for any physical evolution. Eskimos wear fur to keep warm. They built igloos for shelter and built fires with whatever dry wood they could find to keep warm.
The only way we would probably evolve physically is if we were forced to live without our marvelous technology (WHAT!?! no celfones? no computers? no i-pods? Aaarrrggghh!).
Ok, enough about that for now. Now i'll tell you what I think about the possibility of further human evolution.
I once saw a show that featured a girl that was obviously an amazing rock climber. Boy, was she FAST! Lean, mean and all that! She competed in indoor rock climbing competitions and won a lot of awards. She was obviously gifted at climbing. The curious thing about her story was that she apparently grew up with monkeys as playmates. Of course she had friends like we all do but the fact that as a child, she liked to climb up trees with her simian playmates played an important factor in her physical development. She had very strong fingers (also a bit longer than usual) and a very lean and flexible body. In fact she could lift her full body weight using just two of her fingers. Imagine what skills she would have developed if she grew up living with seals. Would she have developed gills? fins? Not likely, but she would have been an exceptional swimmer who could stay underwater longer than most people could. Think of what would happen if she also settled down with a man who was equally gifted like her and they continued living near bodies of water which served as their second natural habitat and source of food. Their children would obviously be much better swimmers than they are. Who knows? Maybe after several (dozen or hundered?) generations, they may even become a new branch of humanity that can live underwater just as well as they live on land (homo-mermanus anyone)? This would certainly put the theory of evolution to the test.
Homo-sapiens can still physically evolve several ways. The most common of which are:
1) Natural Selection (Darwin's theory of evolution) - we evolve physically because of our environment (see preceding paragraph). Evolution through climate changes (not far from reality). We may even change through mutation (exposure to radiation is said to be the common cause of mutations). Right now, we're supposedly at the top of the food chain. But who knows? Some other species just might emerge and give us a run for our money (hopefully not!). But if you ask me what animal would survive a nuclear holocaust? I'd place my bet on the common cockroach. They'd probably outlast homo-sapiens (if we're not careful)...
2) Genetic manipulation - we know have the power to make genetic modifications to anything that has DNA. It is now possible to practically custom-tailor our offspring! The only thing that keeps us from creating a "master race" is because of the fact that we are held back by our "morals" (which is a very subjective and delicate subject unto itself). Tampering with DNA is considered by many as "playing God". To quote Hiro Nakamura's father (Kaito): "We have the power of Gods, but it does not give us the right to play God". I totally agree with this just to be clear. However, we cannot dismiss that man has always been too arrogant for his own good. We may even witness within our own lifetime the emergence of a form of "Master Chief" (Halo) or "Space Marine" (Warhammer 40K), courtesy of the military-industrial complex. Military applications of genetic engineering has never been far off from their radar.
3) Another possible aspect of human evolution would be "Brain" evolution. We could possibly evolve "better" brains! Faster thought processes, psychic abilities (mind-reading, mind-over-matter (telekenisis), maybe even a "spidey-sense"!).
For those of you who think that becoming a cyborg (or BORG for that matter) is another avenue for evolution. I'm not inclined to agree with you there. Fusing human tissue with cybernetic implants isn't my idea of advancing the human species (we'd actually cease to be human, if you ask me). But then again, feel free to express your opinion on this if you disagree. I'd be more than happy to find out what your reasons are...
Well, I think that's enough mental stimulation for now. I suddenly have an itch to watch Star Trek: Enterprise. :D
P.S. Don't use Gamma radiation if you want to evolve. You might end up like the HULK! :P
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