Geneticist Claims Human Evolution Is Over

So says Dr. Strangelove.

I disagree. I myself evolved only last week. I managed to finally understand that the glasses must go into the dishwasher just so or else I earn the formidible ire of my spouse. Some may say that this is simple behavior modification and not evolution. I can confidently assure you that it is indeed a matter of survival of the fittest.

On a somewhat related note: At one time I might have considered the argument that humans have greatly slowed evolving because they can now alter their environment rather than having to adatpt to it. But now I'm wondering if as we alter one aspect of our enviroment in our favor we're inadvertnatly forcing other aspects against us.

Let's all meet back here in 20,000 years and see if anybody has changed.

This is so wrong that it is disturbing. Sometimes I can't figure out what the heck people are thinking. Of course evolution is still going on. I'm going to stop typing now before I get all riled up.

Yep, it constantly amazes me that such a powerful idea can be so misunderstood.

Oh well, as Einstein proved "everything's relative".

not ture i know lots of young people having kids. you can stop evolution. we are just headed into a technolagy not organic evolution now. are social customs are messed up look at the us they are evolution into fat lazzy people. and that that my two cents

agreed, americans are evolving into over sized bodies... that however is a result of poor education and fitness. technology has nearly eliminated the so called "Survival of the fittest" so there is no more natural selection. as for older men and young women, sounds like an old man trying to force his fantasy on society... i dont see how old men cant impregnate women their own age with similar mutations. but what makes anybody think older mutations would be better for society, for all we know all the teenagers smoking pot and warping their minds would be a superior mutation apposed to alzthimers. we are in the technology age yes sir, could be gene splicing is the evolution of tomorrow... play god and take a hand in our own fates... give embryos genes from animals, such as cats eyes... so night would no longer be a natural predator. step it up a notch and set a goal for echo-location from bats. that would be an eye and ear opener...

"for all we know all the teenagers smoking pot and warping their minds would be a superior mutation apposed to alzthimers."

I will take mind warping over mind control, there are going to be a remarkable number of changes if mind control becomes the new norm. Just think of the energy required to break free? The future will see some mentally powerful folks, it has been said that their is no limit to that quality "Human". Just love people who put a fix on the future.

Hello cashman68bam

<"....technology has nearly eliminated the so called "Survival of the fittest"....">

Now it is Non-Survival of the Fattest.

Kind Regards....

"Now it is Non-Survival of the Fattest."

But unfortunately too late to prevent offspring.

May be next winter they need their fat-reserves.

RHABE

I am amazed that this person calls himself a scientist,

how about environment influences? Mutation through, toxic material, radiation, diseases and so on.

Evolution is not by procreation only.

Evolution is still working, no doubt.

But the natural survival probabilities have gone by "modern" developments.

"Modern" is as old as first use of fire.

If we could see the results of ongoing evolution we would not like most of these.

(Loosing capabilities is one direction of evolution.)

Good reading:

"Steven Cunnane: Survival of the fattest." (Some mysteries of early human evolution solved, how was it possible that bigger brains could be an advantage when in ordinary habitats there is no food to support brain growth.)

"Jared Diamond: The rise and the fall of the third Chimpanzee". (How our species evolved from early humans and why we lost some of its brain capabilities in the course of the last 100.000 years).

RHABE

Human evolution is going backwards in some parts of the world. The south Essex towns is one area. Norfolk is another - just ask PlbMak!

10.10.08

Modern Technology permits dissemination of such crap at fast speeds.Such sensation seekers are best ignored. Evolution, if adaptation is any proof, is going on at a faster pace than ever before.It is a different matter altogether that biological forces meant for procreation are being channelled more towards recreation.

The rare times that I get into an argument with my progeny gives ample proof that the next generation is much more evolved than mine.

I submit that evolution for humans is over for different reasons. We will no longer evolve because there is no such thing as survival of the fittest anymore. This is because we do not allow nature to select the most fit to pass on their genes. In today's social state, those of us who are not really fit to survive are able to because of social policies. People who would normally die from genetic illnesses will live on and pass on genes because we have the medical knowledge to make that possible.

Actually, I believe that evolution is now going in the other direction with humans. Those bad genes are not being eliminated from the population. Instead, they are being more and more prevalent because we have the ability to treat them with medicine.

Hi,

you are totally right,

enough food and water in the "developed" world makes the situation worse!

So we will see a decline (may be much earlier or much later than we expect) and a collapse of "western" civilisation.

Mean time between rise and fall for civilisations in our known history has been between 50 and 500 years, maybe a revival is possible after a period of trouble and influx of new genetic diversity.

The talented people (not very many in number) are there where was most intense mixing of people over some few centuries.

RHABE

Evolution has changed in many ways.

It's not the strongest that procreates any more. Now the geeks and nerds get the babes.

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/22764

read it here, and stop relying on others' interpretations and misquotes

Here's a good side however, as human being won't be with a tile, watching in UV/Ir spectrum, "breathing" in vacuum and so on. I hope ways of procreation will remain unchanged, but damn cloning though.

Just watch the movie Idiocracy- it explains everything. We're screwed.

If you remember the Movie "The Matrix", it is closer than most realize to the present situation.

Kind Regards....

I hear a lot of people talking about "physical strength" on this board, as if that is the only factor that evolves for a species.

Human beings aren't the most dominate animal on the planet because of strength, it is our intelligence that makes us better able to adapt than any other animal. There have been other species of man that have been stronger and better adapted for an environment (neanderthals) but we were able to handle them because of our advanced intelligence.

It's true that additional size provides an evolutionary advantage, it is also true that our perception of beauty is derived from proportion and symmetry, since deviations from proportion and symmetry in our features is an indication of abnormal cell division which could be a sign of disease or sickness. So intelligence isn't the only factor, however an older man who has accumulated wealth has demonstrated a certain amount of intelligence, so to say rich older men dating younger women is not evolutionary is a joke. That's precisely what it is.

Also, if you look at our nearest animal relatives, the great apes, it is not unusual for older males to be with younger females, so there is nothing unnatural about it.

Hello Roger Pink

You forgot the opposable thumb.

Kind Regards....

old men got no sperm left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now your biology, females may run out of eggs but men never run out of sperm (although maybe low grade)

Selective breeding is much faster evolution than natural selection. Just look at domesticated dogs, cats, and plants. Within 50 years dominate breeds of plants have been created through selective breading (this includes the incredible marijuana us kids smoke nowadays). SO, the question is if selective breeding and separation is still going on (not necessary from just survival of the fittest). I'd guess yes due to the fact that people of certain physical and mental abilities are usually attracted to people with similar attributes, I could be wrong. Also, cross-breeding in another form of evolution and that happens more and more as racial norms are changed. Look outside darwinism/survivalism and realize there are other forms of selection at play.

Evolution is selective breeding by definition. But you're right, we have sped up the process, however when considered in the scope of billions of years, the change in speed is negligible.