Human evolution...not so pretty

I found this link on skynews` website which shows what the human race will evolve into...

Personally, I think we would evolve into bigger, stronger beings not the other way round but I guess they are proposing that we wouldn't need physical strength in the future, only mental.

Kinda makes you wonder about aliens and the theory that they ARE us from the future...

news.sky.com...

I always go back to the argument...if we evolved from apes then why are there still apes?

because we DIDN'T EVOLVE FROM APES.

we evolved from a species closely related to apes. they're still around too - pressing buttons on a keyboard.

[edit on 18-10-2006 by 25cents]

That's at least better than our evolution (right hand side) of this:news.sky.com... allery/0,,70141-1237453-8,00.html

Originally posted by Zenem
I always go back to the argument...if we evolved from apes then why are there still apes?

We didn't evolve from apes. Apes, monkeys, and humans evolved from the same primate precusor. They aren't around anymore. Pretty cut and dry, actually.

edit: ninja'd by 25cents. Good work.

[edit on 18/10/2006 by Thousand]

Yeah cool, I agree with you. Its just a popular theory that we evolved from apes.

I dont buy it, thats what I meant by if we did then why are there still apes...I think we are our own species.

What do you think we would evolve into? - Stronger beings physically or mentally?

I beleive in aliens but to tell you the truth I find it easier to beleive that aliens are US from the future than a whole different civialization.

Yes, I know that the universe is HUGE and thinking we are alone is naive. But what if aliens are "space tourists" as it were or moderators of the past to preserve the future?

Try this BBC report for a bit more insight and perspective. The Sky image is probably based on the same research. At any rate, both it and the ones on the BBC page were evidently created by the same artist...

if we evolve at all (there's really no need - we have no natural predators outside of viruses), it's be minor. we might continue to grow in size as we have for the past several hundred years, our brains might become larger and more powerful...

the biggest physical change will come if we turn into a spacefaring race. with no gravity, our legs will become weaker and weaker, although our arms might not suffer the same fate. Our upper bodies will probably grow quite a bit, actually, as well as our heads.

Its very plausable that we would get bigger and have better features. Already we have genetic screening and if health care gets cheaper and affordable we would & could live longer.

Especially with stem cell research technology and nano-technology. With enough time & money those could revolutionise the human race and prolong life.

Its true what you say 25cents, we are our own enemies. The spacefaring debate is quite a good one unless they figure out an artificial gravity of some sort. Then the astronauts could at least still work out.

Think how far we have come in the last 100 years...so imagine the next 100, and then 1000. I think we've got alot in store for us. I guess war would shape how fast we develop.

Originally posted by 25cents
if we evolve at all (there's really no need - we have no natural predators outside of viruses)...

There's no 'if' about it. We are certainly evolving and shall continue to do so until our species becomes extinct or evolves into something else altogether. Evolution is a permanent fact of life for all species. Human beings are not exempt.

Evolution is the result of varying environmental effects on different members of a given species. As a result of these effects some members thrive and reproduce, while others are short-lived or sickly and fail to reproduce. The difference is based on how conducive an individual's physical or behavioural characteristics are to survival in that particular environment. This is called natural selection.

Over time, members of the species which have characteristics well suited to survival in a particular environment will become dominant in that environment. Eventually, most or all members of the species will come to share those characteristics or traits. In the same way, traits not well suited to survival in that environment will wither away. This is what we call evolution.

The environment in which human beings live nowadays is largely created by human beings; and because of the complex and technologically advanced societies we have created, even people with handicaps so severe they would not last a day in the wild can still live out their normal span and -- in theory, at least -- reproduce. These two facts have made a great many people believe, as you do, that evolution has come to a halt.

They could not be more wrong.

Consider the following facts:

1. The environment in which we live is largely man-made, but it still suits some people better than others, so some individuals will thrive in it while others struggle (this is not hard to see; just look about you). The ones who thrive will naturally be in a better position to contribute to the gene pool than those who struggle.

2. There are in fact any number of different largely man-made environments. Ivy League Bostonians and Afghan refugees experience completely different environmental influences. This ensures that different traits are selected for in different parts of the world. This increases the genetic variation on which evolutions depends.

Now combine those facts with a third:

3. Survival is only half the story. For an individual to make its mark on the genome, it must reproduce -- which means having viable grandchildren. Not everybody achieves this. People with inherited physical or mental handicaps rarely do, for a start -- in fact, many are warned by their physicians not to have children. But it's not just the Huntingdon's choriacs and Down's-syndrome sufferers who fail to reproduce. What about all the men and women who, because they're ugly or stupid or smelly or bad-tempered or cripplingly shy or whatever, simply cannot find a mate? What about the crack-dealing kid who gets a cap busted in his butt before he gets his first girl knocked up? What about his sister, who aborts her child because she cannot afford to bring it up? What about the cannon-fodder -- young, low-status males with low IQs and minimal life skills who die in droves in war after war, while their stronger, smarter, better-looking officers survive? None of these people gets to have grandchildren. Their genes are flushed out of the pool.

I think these points should suffice to show that differential selective pressure (the force that drives evolution) has not been removed from the human equation -- and therefore, neither has evolution.

Now a word about predators and parasites. You're right to say we have no natural predators. But we do indeed have parasites, which are a much more potent threat. Did you know that most evolutionary biologists nowadays believe that sexual (as opposed to asexual) reproduction originally evolved as a defence against parasites? Look it up; it's called the Red Queen hypothesis. Parasites are still with us, and will always be, and as long as they are with us, we will continue to evolve. We'll have to, because they are evolving too.

So will we evolve into skinny, floppy, alien-like creatures like the one shown in the Sky report? Or will our race split in two, as the BBC piece suggests? Frankly, I haven't the foggiest idea. But it seems to me that the two-species scenario, horrible as it sounds, may actually come to be realized. Looking at some of the people I see around me, I often wonder if it hasn't happened already...

[edit on 18-10-2006 by Astyanax]

Zenem,maybe this is the MSMs way off gradually introducing us to the idea that we are the greys in the future.
Why the pale skin?Lack of sunlight in the future maybe,due to pollution?

Gear,thats an interesting page-I can see humans doing exactlly that as the divide between rich and poor grows.
After all,our environment plays a big part in our evolution.Think of the fish that live in caves for thousands of years,and lose their eyesight.
Its sort of happening to a degree already....Not many rich people are obese in seems,while in the poorer sections of society,obesity is skyrocketing.Sad.

Oh my... how are all of these blonds with artificial breasts here in Florida going to look with those obnoxious breast and only weighing in at about 3 ft tall because of their intelllliegence... or lack thereof.

They gonna be cute then. -giggle-

You are so right... this isnt going to be pretty. hehe

[edit on 18-10-2006 by Little One]

The more i think about this story the more distubing it becomes.
What if the Elites entire NWO plan is to do exactlly what the story describes-split the poor into a sub srevient species of chubby slaves,dumbed down not to question their Tall Slim,God like leaders.
Basically the poor would be the new cows...Sick idea.I hope it never happens.
Oh dear,too late...