Originally posted by Schrecken Licht
The only way for that to happen - another species of human to evolve - would be for there to be some kind of isolation that kept a population of
modern humans separate for a long period of time, many thousands of years at least.
In our modern world it would be very unlikely if not impossible for that to happen, given all of the moving around on the earth we do. But it would
be interesting to see what would happen if a human population somehow became isolated and underwent physical or mental changes, or both.
I was going to post this myself - well put.
I also believe that our higher conscious state and empathy towards each other (ie, choosing mates based on personality rather than physical traits,
social services for the disadvantaged, medical advances, etc) have created a scenario where survival of the fittest is no longer the norm. The steady
"straight" evolutionary march has hit a cul de sac with humanity that is not present to such a degree anywhere else in the animal kingdom. You
won't see a "new strain" of humanity emerge simply because it would be overwhelmed and folded back into the genetic pool before it could gain a
significant hold on a population.
I'm of the belief that the only further evolution humanity will experience will be brought about by our own hand. I'm a firm believer in
Technological Transhumanism, and I'm fairly certain that we'll end up altering ourselves so radically it may very well be considered an evolutionary
step.