I would like to develop wings.

Serious evolution question though: I hate science (have taken the bare minimum science courses to complete H.S. and in college) but evolution is interesting. Why wouldn't all animals strive to be predators? Why would a species remain a victim (albeit a more crafty victim)? Wouldn't all monkeys attempt to "humanize"?

Feel free to make fun of my science illiteracy but an honest attempt to answer me would be appreciated.

How does this square with those who deny evolution or term it "just a theory?" If the corporate PR machines that tell us what to think have their way, the women will be Carrie Prejeans (bigger bust size than IQ) and the men will sleepwalk through life mumbling Fox idiocies. herm

Human evolution has ceased. We keep our genetically damaged alive so they can reproduce and pass on their bad genes.

Talk about blind extrapolation.

"that's crap,"

Although I never considered the Simpsons as a basis for possible future human evolution, their show is definitely not 'crap'.

Global warming theory...now that's crap.

In The Year 2525

Zager Evans

In The Year 2525
If woman can survive
They may find

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, and say
Is in the pill you took today

In the year 4545
Ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing chew
Nobody's gonna look at you

In the year 5555
Your arms are hanging limp at your sides
Your legs got not nothing to do
Some machine is doing that for you

In the year 6565
Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long glass tube

In the year 7510
If God's a-comin' he ought to make it by then
Maybe he'll look around himself and say
[ Zager Evans Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
Guess it's time for the Judgement day

In the year 8510
God is gonna shake his mighty head
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down and start again

In the year 9595
I'm kinda wondering if man is gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing

Now it's been 10,000 years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what he never knew
Now man's reign is through
But through the eternal night
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away
Maybe it's only yesterday

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do or say
Is in the pill you took today ....(fading...)

#7 | Posted by Ray

Every verse of that song has needs an asterisk at the end, and the liner notes should say:
"* provided we don't annihilate ourselves before this point"

. Why wouldn't all animals strive to be predators?

Omnivores have a better survival rate. Predators burn much more energy than grazers or scavengers. That's what did in the Neanderthals. Predators are also at the mercy of the health of their prey.

And Goat-we are still evolving at the genetic level.

PBS just had a great show on how homo sapiens survived while the other humanids didn't.

Omnivores have a better survival rate. Predators burn much more energy than grazers or scavengers. That's what did in the Neanderthals. Predators are also at the mercy of the health of their prey.

North - thanks, that's counter intuitive, but makes sense. Do you remember the name of the PBS show? I've just discovered PBS' Cosmos after that Carl Sagan Youtube remix thread, I'd be interested in seeing more PBS productions.

Why wouldn't all animals strive to be predators? Why would a species remain a victim (albeit a more crafty victim)? Wouldn't all monkeys attempt to "humanize"?

#2 | Posted by andyuhenet at 2009-11-18 06:28 PM | Reply |

The most basic answer to your first question is because a world full of predators would be a zero sum game in terms of energy. The very nature of a predator is only made possible by the non-predators. That source of energy wouldn't exist otherwise, and thus nature would not try to exploit it.

At the most basic level, fundamental to life is the notion that life attempts to take advantage of all forms of energy. Sometimes that means you eat gas, extract the good parts and spit out the bad parts. Maybe you eat dirt, or maybe you eat your neighbors. Whatever happens to be plentiful with the least amount of competition is what life strives to.

"At the most basic level, fundamental to life is the notion that life attempts to take advantage of all forms of energy." - knighthawk.

Excellent answer.....

Wouldn't all monkeys attempt to "humanize"?

#2 | Posted by andyuhenet at 2009-11-18 06:28 PM | Reply |

A very solid question. The question I always asked is why don't dolphins build cruise missles?

The answer amounts to the idea that while a dolphin may have a similar brain size to us, its mostly dedicated to its echo location abilities and not thinking up really cool shit.

Specifically to your question, it puzzles me to no end how the hell we humanized... I'd feel alot better about life if there were dolphins that made bongs, smoked seaweed, and ate clam chips all day. Or if vampires, and werewolves, centaurs actually existed. Then it would make our existance not seem so remarkable in the context of what we know about the history of life on this planet.

So even if dolphins had our brains, they'd have a hard time building missles without "digits". And electronics is definately out of the question...

On evolutionary timescales we are still nothing but a blip. And its still entirely possible we will be nothing more than a dead end on the tree of life.

Another thing to think about. They think its quite possible we came along and wiped out neanderthals. Who comes to wipe us homosapiens out? No creature on this planet has ever remained supreme forever. We may very well extinct ourselves, but give it long enough something is bound to come along and see as a food source, and be well adapted at hunting us.

Cyborgs.

I saw it in a movie one time

It looked awesome.

Sign me up!

So - who do you think is piloting the thousands of UFOs witnessed? Descendants?

Meteors. Atmospheric anomalies. Air force pilots. A sinister cabal of insectoid aliens hellbent on impregnating you with parasitic larvae that will eat their way out of your eye sockets in 2012.

Take your pick.

In The Year 2525

Great post Ray. I love that song.

Here is anime version.

Why wouldn't all animals strive to be predators?

#2 | Posted by andyuhenet

In a sense, all life is predatory. Life feeds on death.

Wouldn't all monkeys attempt to "humanize"?
.....#2 | Posted by andyuhenet

.......that would be scary.......

...what if they demanded the right to bear arms ?...

...a bunch of stupid monkeys, drunk on Saturday night, shooting their fool guns off.......

.....a simian could get hurt.....

Who comes to wipe us homosapiens out?

#13 | Posted by KnightHawk

Liberals.

Here is anime version.

That was a fucking great vid.

Human evolution is quickly taking place as we adapt to survival in a polluted environment. Also I have a crazy opinion that the animals are getting smarter.

That was a fucking great vid.

Thanks!

I love aninme. Some of the stories can be just... devastating.

A real art form, the Japanese have created.

Also I have a crazy opinion that the animals are getting smarter.
.....#22 | Posted by grumpy_

.....if you live in Texas, it just seems that way......