Are there any other examples of human evolution being finished?

Question

in the last century. track times have gotten faster, vertical jumps higher, max bench presses more ..and so on...

but in baseball, the fastball has hovered at around 100 miles per hour for a long time. seemingly being the limit of what the human body is capable of doing..

Answer 1

Evolution is never finished.  It's not working towards any particular goal.  Sure, we might be very well-adapted to where we are right now, but that can easily change - look at the rapid climate changes all over the globe in the last few thousand years.

Answer 2

Though I do believe in evolution, it doesn't relate all that well to sports.

Consider the basis of evolution. The member of the species that is best adapted to his environment is likely to produce the most offspring, passing his superior genes along, while the member of the species that has adapted poorly might not produce any offspring. So, within a few generations, the descendants of the adapted member are thriving while those of the poorly adapted do no exist.

Generally, the ability of throwing the fastest fastball does not entice the members of the opposite s*x. Funny point in our evolution; in the western world, being the strongest physically doesn't really matter that much anymore. Perhaps, if the industrialization and the pollution continues, people who can't cope with it will become sick and bedridden while those who can will still be walking around, making babies.

Answer 3

Dude....there's no such thing as evolution. Why can we jump higher, run faster and yada yada...

That's because we are healthier nutrition wise and we could train harder due to technologycal advancements.

Answer 4

To answer your question, evolution isn't something that ever finishes.  Human beings in their current state are by no means perfectly suited to inhabit planet Earth.

The things you are speaking about (track times, vertical jumps), are actually not products of evolution.  Humans become more athletic in recent decades, to name a few factors, because of improved nutrition and training regimens and an increase in competition.

Now, the rest is purely speculative, but I would say that the average human is LESS athletic and weaker than our prehistoric ancestors.  These days, running fast or being able to lift a large load doesn't really make a human more likely to reproduce and survive.  It is just the human beings who focus on athletics that are stronger and faster than generations long gone.