So what else could evolution do for us?

Because evolution cannot anticipate the future. It doesn't know any perfect state, only comprimises between competing design parameters.

Because it's a constant battle, an arms race. Parasites and diseases have an advantage in that they can evolve faster, their generations can be as short as 24 hours.

 

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Er, I'll take the biological livin', thanks.

All right: so what's next, then? Assuming we maintain the more or less technograrian position we have now, odd features out might evaporate: multiple molars? Pinkies? Eyesight will continue to suck. Of course, all of this is under ye olde adaptationist paradigm.

 

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I am afraid that we are about to take over, presuming our short term goals are better and we'll be evolving ourselves, with no doubt horrid results. Take a look at the plastic surgery field and what happens to the guys on steroids to get some sense of the upcoming wrong turns.

 

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Well, that's kinda more body modification. I was thinking about the almost indifferent relation of human survival to traits that were probably initially important to survival. Guess I'm suggesting drift.

 

It is time to find out new methods of existence within or outside of organic solutions. Why did we control the fire then? It is our heritage and destiny to find out ways of controlling nature, including ours, and ultimately leave the nature alone in our existence.

"I can place multiple bets on horses, how can I die like an ape!"

 

I knew you didn't mean what I meant, I just think we'll interfere and mess up the 'natural' kind. Not simply gross modification - puns intended - but for intelligence, various kinds of endurance stuff, strength, perhaps things like ability to thrive in weightlessness, and I would guess reduction of emotions - though it will be described differently - something like balanced emotional tendencies, or stress tolerant. I think we'll end up with homo ___________ and it will probably take a long time for them to realize we thought we were smarter than we were and they suffered for it.

 

why would it need to anticipate the future? i'm talking about adapting to solve what's wrong with the present.

well then what's the point again?

 

before we have eternal life, we would need a whole lot of room for expansion, because when people stop dying, then it gets rather crowded.

 

that's a good point, but it seems that this particular time of replenishing the earth will only last for 1000 years.

 

Evolution is unlikely to fix human problems any time soon, it led to a complex brain and culture, which has outpaced evolution. Maybe if all the aggressive people died in warfare, we would be left with a less agressive population. I think it would take thousands of years, if not tens of thousands, assuming conditions stayed relatively stable.

 

considering our culture, i think that's a pretty far out assumption to make spider.

 

Whatever happens the basic body plan remains to support having babies.
And we will live long enough to have them.
Other than that.. :shrug:

 

enmos,

do you think your fixation on population control inhibits your sex drive or your gratification, enjoyment, and/or fulfillment in regards to sex?

 

would it be possible to get webbed feet and gills?

 

wouldn't that be going backwards? i could handle being a mermaid though.

 

Probably not, unless we use the genes from other animals. Look at how that happened naturally, it takes a mammal living in an aquatic habitat, where there is a gradation of advantage for animals that can swim farther and faster and stay underwater longer. Even then no gills developed.

 

What about partial evolutionary predictability via "spandrels"? Does an evolutionary line with a few spandrels hanging about persist a little longer? I imagine none of it could be inferred from the fossil record anyway.

 

No. I don't see the relevance though.

 

how did bats get webbed hands? did they go backwards?

 

Separate evolutionary path. There is a natural progression between jumping from tree to tree to gliding, gliding to true flight.