Have we fully evolved as humans? Is this the “end game” for our species?

Question

Have we fully evolved as humans? Is this the “end game” for our species?

Answer 1

It has been proven that Evolution has slowed down in Humans.

Answer 2

In a way yes.

Evolution is the natural selection of a being with small mutations that occur to a person in the embryonic stage. Humans, like all other animals will experience small mutations (genetic variants that are not common to either your mother or father).

We will always have these mutations, brining variations into the human gene pool but what is different is that there is no natural selection or survival of the fittest.

In days past if there was a genetic variation that did not serve the species well - it would disappear through natural selection. Now this does not happen, every genetic variation survives as science and social conditions make it possible for everyone to survive and pass on their genes through the generation by having children.

I will probably receive a lot on negative votes for this post but it is true.

Answer 3

Definitely not.  The thing about evolution is that it's a process, not a beginning-to-end hierarchy.  By that, I mean that a fish is as evolved as a human, it's just evolved to fit into a different environment.  Humans evolved intelligence and tool-making ability in order to survive, not because it's "better" or some sort of endpoint.

Right now, there are very few selective pressures acting on humanity.  Technology, medicine and our social constructs allow people who aren't necessarily the most fit to survive and reproduce.  In other words, for humans, it has gone from "survival of the fittest" to "survival of the majority."

Due to the lack of selective pressures, humans will probably begin losing traits that are unnecessary for survival.  We're seeing this already - more and more people are being born that will never develop wisdom teeth.  In thousands of years, we may see our innate physical abilities start to decline (the current obesity epidemic in America is due to lifestyle and inactivity, rather than genetics, so it isn't an evolutionary change).  Even when changes aren't readily apparent, evolution is at work.

Of course, all of this is dependent on the survival of our current social structure and level of technology.  If a nuclear war wiped out our national infrastructure and reduced us to a bronze-age level of technology, then physical fitness and cleverness would become much more essential to basic survival, and natural selection would step in again.

Answer 4

I think the idea that we, as a species, have reached the pinnacle of evolution is a very arrogant one.

There is evidence that new generations are being born with smaller and smaller pinky toes/fingers, stronger thumbs and less and less people are having trouble with their wisdom teeth because it is not growing out so much in younger generations.

Whats next for us? No idea... hope it involves wings or something!! lol

Answer 5

Given the very small percentage of our brains that we currently use and the extent to which science is progressing, then potentially we have a lot further to go.

Whether we make it as a species or not is a very different question! Unless we get our act together and stop fighting each other, then we may not get a chance to evolve.

Answer 6

Evolution is a VERY slow process. We can't tell for sure whether it's happening now or not. Common consensus is that we have stopped our biological evolution by controlling our own environment. Things might change in the future, that could kick our biological evolution back in action. For example, a world-wide cataclism, nuclear war, etc. Imagine that everything that makes our civilisation is destroyed and we are forced back to survival of the fittest.

If we go ahead with space exploration and start populating other planets, or living in zero-g all of our lives, our bodies will change as well and we might evolve into different species.

But whatever happens, it will take hudreds of thousands of years, if not millions.

Answer 7

I can see that we are changing in our lifetime. Have you seen how larger, taller and stronger schoolkids are? At 5'9, I was considered average height a few years ago, now I feel short compared to the younger generation. (No I am not shrinking-I'm only 34!) Now if you think that these tall children will feel the same way when they are my age, then surely that is evolution you can see in your own lifetime.

Providing no one presses the button(Or some other catastrophe), we will go on changing- maybe completely bald as we are losing our ape hair, maybe smarter with help from technology sticking chips in our heads, messing about with DNA, making ourselves fitter and stronger (I think Hitler called it Master Race!) and so many other things to take into consideration.

Is this the end game? I hope not. It makes me feel sad that with all the idiots and sick people in the world, we are the best we can be. There must be something better along the way, otherwise I would regret having a son.

Answer 8

Many answers on here us words like "progression" and "pinnacle" of our evolution as a species. Evolution has no goal, and progression does not exist, as it is not a measurable thing. That is teleological and is not a part of the theory of evolution. So when you say, have we fully evolved, I would say fully evolved to what? How would anyone know the newest model of human is the end version? There is no such thing.

Now that we have cleared up any misconceptions,...

We are still evolving, albeit at a much slower rate. It would be difficult for any gene to spread through the entire population of humans if it was beneficial to everyone, but regional differences due to founder affect may cause genetic drift. Larger changes in the allelic frequency of smaller populations that have no outbreeding will be observed, but not on any large scale.

Answer 9

No that's the thing about evolution, we go on progressing, we will most likely in years to come live a lot longer, get much taller and with science progressing at the rate it does, live healthier lives, due to better management of diseases that would once have killed us, like cancer, heart disease. Man will have to see though that eating healthier foods is a better way, rather than much of the junk many eat now.  

Answer 10

Have we fully evolved as humans? Is this the “end game” for our species