Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Science and Technology
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-24-2009, 11:07 PM
 
1,635 posts, read 1,943,870 times
Reputation: 2617

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Grandstander View Post
I look forward to that future. It would be great if when out in public and the whiz urgency arises, instead of having to try and sneak into some restaurant's can, you just find the nearest fire hydrant and let fly.
I wonder if male humans would lift their leg, and the females squat down along the hydrant. Guess we could have floppy ears as well. May be the up and coming fashion fad. Look at my Basset Hound Ears they are so Rad.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-24-2009, 11:21 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,648,499 times
Reputation: 36642
Looks like we'll need to keep our thumbs, though, to manipulate the scooper.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-24-2009, 11:44 PM
 
258 posts, read 442,333 times
Reputation: 203
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
Looks like we'll need to keep our thumbs, though, to manipulate the scooper.
Just add a hand on the end of the dog tail!!!! The perfect pooper scooper
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-25-2009, 02:22 AM
 
2,255 posts, read 5,384,762 times
Reputation: 800
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninjahedge View Post
What?

Yes it is Europeans and will continue to dominate? Listen, do us all a favor and try not to get into heated philosophical debates with people when your mastery of the english language is obviously questionable.

It may not be an indication of your overall intelligence, but the inaccurate communication of your points will leave too much room for alternate interpretation or just plain confusion to be able to discuss something lik this rationally.

Please show me a reputable source that says Europeans are on the top of the BIOLOGICAL evolutionary "pile". Making an assertion that Europeans are on the top with no proof makes the BURDEN of such proof lie on your shoulders, not ours.
Ah , I'm ever so greatful he's on the other side. It's not even worth a reply. I think he makes the other sides case though. LOL
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-25-2009, 02:49 AM
Yac
 
6,049 posts, read 7,698,565 times
Everybody calm down or the thread will be closed.
Yac.
__________________
Forum Rules
City-Data.com homepage
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-25-2009, 05:21 AM
 
2,255 posts, read 5,384,762 times
Reputation: 800
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yac View Post
Everybody calm down or the thread will be closed.
Yac.
It is curious. This is the 4th or 5th identical thread posted under various sections of the forum. guess he/she wanted reactions from a wide area of Joe/Jane public.

I'm not offended by anything said. First of all I'm not a Swede nor a creationist. Although my views differ radical from both sides of the discussion. Incredibly I've been labled, but not in this Science/Tech sub-forum a dumb a s s , prick , S O B delusional , stupid , idiot , left or right wing (I don't even vote period) and so on. Those responses usually have been when I've asked a question that could'nt be answered or I've actually given a lengthy complete answer.

In the end it does'nt really matter anyway.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-25-2009, 12:42 PM
 
5,463 posts, read 9,600,680 times
Reputation: 3555
Quote:
Originally Posted by Narcissus23 View Post
How the human mind and body works is already programmed into the DNA code. Once we understand the code itself we understand ourselves. We then can make ourselves even more advanced by updating the code with our minds, and not just natural mutations. We are on the dawn of a new age of mankind. I think in the future we will be able to created other sentient beings. Like a elephant as smart as a man is now. Make a dog that can talk and think, and live much longer than 15 to 20 years. We will be able to cure most diseases, and control bacteria and viruses much better. Understanding the DNA code and how to manipulate it is the holy grail of biological science in my opinion.

There's little question that we'll continue to use our minds to make new discoveries and advancements. But there's a lot more more involved in the process. Ninjahedge gave an excellent example of science being like an inverted onion - the deeper you go, the more layers you uncover. We're finding the same thing about the mind itself - there are many strange layers involved, and the deeper you look the more you can start wondering about the nature of reality itself. The point is that we can learn things about nature, and we can even tweak things a bit, but nature itself is extremely complex.

There might be a way around it, but at the present time, it looks like the only way a new species of human could be made would have to include the ability to pass on the genetic code through reproduction. If it's only applicable to the treatment of a single person, and it can't be passed on through reproduction, then all you have is an enhancement of a single person. That's not a bad thing, but it doesn't mean a new species of human.

In the process of evolution by natural selection, changes happen all the time. But those changes are ever so slight, almost unnoticable. And the process seems to be one change built on another over an incredibly long period of time. Creating a new species of human by means of genetic modification might also involve a process over hundreds of thousands of years. And there's still no way to know if it would result in a successful evolution that continues on or if it just would reach a dead end to its own eventual extinction. The point is that evolution is an extremely slwo and involved process. It doesn't involve just a few things. It involves an enormous number of variables, including probable outcomes. Had there been even the slightest differences in the past, we might not even be here, or we might be very different than we are.

Certainly mutations at the genetic level played a part in it, but adaption to environmental conditions (not just weather) probably had a role in it as well. Mutations enable adaption, and adaption enables further mutations. In my opinion, they probably work together. If a mutation occurs but is unable to adapt, then the mutation would have to change again until the organism can adapt or the organism will become extinct.

So the question is whether or not there may be shortcuts in the process, or whether it can be sped up or not. But even if there are ways, natural selection still takes over in the end. And that leads to another question: other than showing it could be done, would there be a real benefit to genetically create a new species of human? Perhaps natural selection is more efficient at it.

At the present time, and I suspect for a very long time to come in the future, it's probably more efficient using mechanical enhancements. For example, it's cheaper and more efficient to send robotic probes and rovers to explore the planets than it is to send humans. Granted there are things people can do that machines can't (at least at the present time), but for initial exploration, machines are the best solution in covering long distances. For humans, body parts that wear out are becoming more and more replaceable with artifical parts. But that doesn't change the species.

It's possible a new species could branch off from homo sapiens, but then that gets back to natural selection.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-25-2009, 02:19 PM
 
Location: Sinking in the Great Salt Lake
13,139 posts, read 22,727,434 times
Reputation: 14116
Quote:
Originally Posted by Narcissus23 View Post
Just curious of what everyone's opinions are on the subject. Will current human species develop new human species that will make us obsolete within next 100 to 200 years.
According to the theory of evolution yes, humans will evolve into something else eventually, but it will probably take tens-if not hundreds of thousands of years. Even with the tech, I doubt many people would really want to be made into sci-fi style cyborg clones and all that jazz, so we'll probably evolve the old fashioned way.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-25-2009, 03:04 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,648,499 times
Reputation: 36642
But if all humans evolve together into something else, that something else will still be what we humans are. That's not what the Neanderthals did---they just died out, and were replaced in their niche by a different species.

However, if there is selective DNA engineering, designed to send some humans down one evolutionary path, and some down another, then there will be divergent evolution into "something" and "something else".
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-26-2009, 10:03 AM
 
Location: Sinking in the Great Salt Lake
13,139 posts, read 22,727,434 times
Reputation: 14116
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
But if all humans evolve together into something else, that something else will still be what we humans are. That's not what the Neanderthals did---they just died out, and were replaced in their niche by a different species.

However, if there is selective DNA engineering, designed to send some humans down one evolutionary path, and some down another, then there will be divergent evolution into "something" and "something else".
There were lots of homo species living when fully modern humans made their appearance, like neanderthal, homo floresiensis and even homo erectus (which lived almost unchanged for at least a million years). Eventually they all died out, most likely because we out-competed them. But we all came from the same roots.
If we messed w/DNA and somehow managed to create new superhuman species that survived better than regular people, the same thing might happen again; they could eventually make regular humans extinct. More likely though we would all interbreed and converge again, keeping us all the same species.

Species won't normally diverge into two different species unless they are physically separated, and unless humans in the future colonize different planets and are permanently cut off from each other, we will all remain the same identifiable species in the end, because we all intermingle in the now globalized world. Maybe race will even dissapear in time if we remain permanently globalized. It would be very interesting to see where our kind goes in the next million years. Realistically speaking though, we are more likely to nuke the world within the next 50 year and make evolution start all over again with bacteria.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Science and Technology

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top