Human Evolution

[Kramerman]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Saving the weak helps to preserve the species as a whole. The most successful animals (not counting hive insects) that live in groups/packs tend to save the weak.

Not really, the weak (weak/sick/old) are just used so that the preditors get them and the rest of the herd can get away. They arent really protected, tho they probably do have a slightly higher chance of survival in a scollective than they would alone.

I odnt know how this works for pack preditors tho

[Urban Ranger]

Check out the African Wild Dogs.

[St Leo]

Fittest != Strongest

We are merely changing the definition of the fittest.

[Nubclear]

Once has to consider that Physical Evolution is not the only evolution......

[BustaMike]

Survival of the Fittest is only one aspect of evolution. There are some good arguments that claim evolution as a whole is largely based on social interaction in addition to survival of the fittest. Humanity may have stopped evolving physically or maybe not. I read somewhere that the average human tooth size has steadily declined over the past few thousands of years. I dunno what that means for evolution, but it does show change. And all physical evolution aside, there is definately constant human social evolution.

And lets not forget genetic engineering. Who knows what crazy things might come from that in the future? Kind of a self imposed evolution...

[Dis]

and when do we lose our pinky toe dammit!

damn thing just gets stubbed on things.

[HazieDaVampire]

Arn't the Christians preventing us from geneticly engineering,
They're also stopping us doing research into stem cells which could cure cancer and Altcimers(sp?).

And the quick death of people who have genes that kill them isn't going to make much difference, you'll just see more of us staying alive.

[DuncanK]

Social systems evolve. Cooperation is more efficient than competition so the human species will no longer evolve.

I don't see any need for genetically engineered humans.

[HazieDaVampire]

Ever seen Dark Angle? Or played on Dues Ex?
They make some damn good soldiers.

And we could create people who don't need as much oxygen, so they can travel further into space.

[DuncanK]

I don't think the benefits would be worth it. There maybe some of it going on in some countries, but it wont be wide spread.

[curtsibling]

I think the benefits of genetic engineering aimed at stopping Cancer or AIDS disease are worth the costs.

Christians may hate genetic engineering, but my late granmother was a very devout christian woman,
and I noticed god did not spare her any suffering or ultimately save her from cancer that spread to her brain.

To be fair our 'current' Science didn't either.
Science and helping of human suffering is held in abeyance because of people's draconian fears of progress, based on religious brainwashing...

We could solve many problems, if we could actually grow up as a race.
I will stick with science, thank you.

[HazieDaVampire]

Amen brother. lol

[St Leo]

It could be an evolved trait only if it helps the perpetuation of our genes. If saving the weaks is resulting from a spiritual conception of the good, it could not be an evolved trait.

It didn't. The spiritual conception of good was a lame excuse to rationalise the saving of the weak.

Most individuals within a species have roughly the same genetic makeup. There are no truly weak individuals; saving the weak works on a quid pro quo basis.

[HazieDaVampire]

of course their are genes that make people weak.

Albinos are an extreme one.

If you got rid of everything that businesses provide us with and put us all back in the stoneage with no rules to the game, a few of us will survive to pass on our genes.

In the modern world we all survive, our chance at passing on our genes is now no longer the fact we have survived, but the way we look and our personalitys.

[Zero]

Originally posted by HazieDaVampire

In the modern world we all survive, our chance at passing on our genes is now no longer the fact we have survived, but the way we look and our personalitys.

So then there still is sexual selection. A male who is unable to attract a female will not pass on his genes.