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What skill will our brains evolve next?

Triumph

Triumph

Lifer
Hundreds of millions of years ago, our brains were reptilian in nature, consisting of pure instinct and basic traits necessary for survival. As ages passed and we further evolved, we developed the mammalian traits of child rearing, empathy, nurturing, and the like. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, as the tools thus far developed for survival became inadequate, our brain developed cognitive abilities, creativity, reasoning. Essentially the brain as we know it today.

What skills and abilities will we develop next? Perhaps more importantly, what will be the impetus of this next development in our evolutionary history? Environmental change? War? Disease? Extraterrestrial influence?
 
Originally posted by: Triumph

What skills and abilities will we develop next? Perhaps more importantly, what will be the impetus of this next development in our evolutionary history? Environmental change? War? Disease? Extraterrestrial influence?
Click to expand...

Biological evolution is being surpassed by technological evolution. The next step is integration between our biology and technology. Just look at how slow biological systems evolve compared to our technology. Can you imagine our brains getting 2x as powerful every 2-3 years...?

 
Originally posted by: everman
Originally posted by: Triumph

What skills and abilities will we develop next? Perhaps more importantly, what will be the impetus of this next development in our evolutionary history? Environmental change? War? Disease? Extraterrestrial influence?
Click to expand...

Biological evolution is being surpassed by technological evolution. The next step is integration between our biology and technology. Just look at how slow biological systems evolve compared to our technology. Can you imagine our brains getting 2x as powerful every 2-3 years...?
Click to expand...

Bingo.
 
Originally posted by: everman
Originally posted by: Triumph

What skills and abilities will we develop next? Perhaps more importantly, what will be the impetus of this next development in our evolutionary history? Environmental change? War? Disease? Extraterrestrial influence?
Click to expand...

Biological evolution is being surpassed by technological evolution. The next step is integration between our biology and technology. Just look at how slow biological systems evolve compared to our technology. Can you imagine our brains getting 2x as powerful every 2-3 years...?
Click to expand...
You have the right idea, but you're not quite right. Biological evolution has indeed become irrelevant. The reason is that in order to select for biological characteristics, the selective pressure has to be applied for a long period of time... at least several generations. Nowadays, because of the technological progress, and rapid changes within our environment and human society, the pressures change directions so rapidly, that there is no real selection possible.

So instead, we evolve via MEMES - units of behaviour, knowledge, and social conduct... which, as opposed to genes, can be passed not just from parents to offspring, but also in reverse, as well as laterally.
 
We got smart enough to adapt the world to ourselves. There is no survival of the fittest anymore, as *everyone* survives now, even those with the worst genetic defects. We have no predators, and we're conquering diseases. There's no reason for us to evolve anymore.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
We got smart enough to adapt the world to ourselves. There is no survival of the fittest anymore, as *everyone* survives now, even those with the worst genetic defects. We have no predators, and we're conquering diseases. There's no reason for us to evolve anymore.
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We need more Darwin award winners.
 
Originally posted by: neutralizer
Originally posted by: notfred
We got smart enough to adapt the world to ourselves. There is no survival of the fittest anymore, as *everyone* survives now, even those with the worst genetic defects. We have no predators, and we're conquering diseases. There's no reason for us to evolve anymore.
Click to expand...

We need more Darwin award winners.
Click to expand...
There are so many things fundamentally wrong with the former post, that I don't even want to bother addressing it.
 
Tangent question: do you consider humans to be evolving *at all*?

Many people (including most people trained in biology) agree that humans are no longer evolving. I would have to argue that AIDS exerts some selective pressures on the general human population. It can not be cured (right now), provides a significant barier to having children, and always ends in death. The same could be said for other diseases, but none are as well known and feared as AIDS.
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
Hundreds of millions of years ago, our brains were reptilian in nature, consisting of pure instinct and basic traits necessary for survival. As ages passed and we further evolved, we developed the mammalian traits of child rearing, empathy, nurturing, and the like. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, as the tools thus far developed for survival became inadequate, our brain developed cognitive abilities, creativity, reasoning. Essentially the brain as we know it today.

What skills and abilities will we develop next? Perhaps more importantly, what will be the impetus of this next development in our evolutionary history? Environmental change? War? Disease? Extraterrestrial influence?
Click to expand...

Immortality
 
I don't understand why so many people simply don't understand evolution. I'm no biologist and I'm not even an expert; however, I have read probably a few dozen books/essays on the topic ranging Lamarck to Dawkins and Gould, and almost everyone has the same misconceptions. It doesn't help that these threads seem to always turn more into argument than actual discussion. Most of it is from incorrectly understanding what Natural Selection actually means.

1) Natural selection is only one form of selection. There are others.
2) Evolution isn't something observed at the macro level. You're not likely to witness evolution of anything discernable in humans in your lifetime or generations. I'm sure there are exceptions.

That's not exactly a worthy argument on my part, but to try and clear up these common misconceptions would probably turn into a huge argument and take more time than it's worth. Suffice it to say that the whole notion of "we're no longer evolving" is ridiculous and represents a misunderstanding of evolution, including Natural Selection as one theorized method.

[edit]I guess I could try to be a little more constructive, so here is a link that discusses this in depth. The books Third Chimpanzee, Blind Watchmaker, Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype and of course Origin of Species are good resources. Also look into the earlier studies by Lamarck and his studies on acquired traits, epigenetic inheritance, etc.[/edit]
 
Originally posted by: Doboji
Originally posted by: Triumph
Hundreds of millions of years ago, our brains were reptilian in nature, consisting of pure instinct and basic traits necessary for survival. As ages passed and we further evolved, we developed the mammalian traits of child rearing, empathy, nurturing, and the like. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, as the tools thus far developed for survival became inadequate, our brain developed cognitive abilities, creativity, reasoning. Essentially the brain as we know it today.

What skills and abilities will we develop next? Perhaps more importantly, what will be the impetus of this next development in our evolutionary history? Environmental change? War? Disease? Extraterrestrial influence?
Click to expand...

Immortality
Click to expand...

the ultimate goal
 
Judging from this place, I'd love to see brains evolve to the point where the average human can use your/you're, there/their/they're and to/too/two properly.
 
We've reached the peak of our natural evolution and are rapidly devolving, due to the tendency of traits which aren't necessary disappearing over time (intelligence is no longer needed in modern society). If we advance more as a species, it will be due to technology; bionic implants, intelligence enhancing surgery / nanotechnology, etc.
 
Originally posted by: RBachman
We've reached the peak of our natural evolution and are rapidly devolving, due to the tendency of traits which aren't necessary disappearing over time (intelligence is no longer needed in modern society). If we advance more as a species, it will be due to technology; bionic implants, intelligence enhancing surgery / nanotechnology, etc.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to pick a fight in this thread, but I can only believe that the misconceptions are spread through posts like this. People enter the thread see nonsense like devolving and then perpetuate it everywhere else.

If the links I provided aren't sufficient to prove how oxymoronic the notion of de-evolution are then just Google around a bit.
 
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