I often wondered just how humans managed to evolve to become the globes top creature. We have no real weapons in our arsenal. No claws or pincers or razor sharp teeth. We are not particularly fast runners, swimmers or great climbers. Our sense of smell and sight are weak compared to most other animals and we can't fly and don't possess a poisonous sting or bite so what stopped all the other animals armed with all these things picking us off the second we came down from the tree tops?Whatever the reason, we are where we are and stomping around the place like we own it, which we do really. Tough luck dolphins, you had your chance.
Anyway, we developed tools and made wheels and found out how to control fire and moved out of damp, cold caves and into houses with carpets and central heating.
Probably our greatest weapon was our brains once we realised that sharp things do a lot of damage to anything wanting to make a meal out of us. So we continued to evolve and our brains got bigger and we got cleverer and it was thought that we had advanced as far as we could, that we were in a post-evolutionary state but a scientific report in the National Academy of Sciences have found that we are still evolving and growing bigger and stronger.
We haven't done bad for a glorified ape with no real weapons or visible means of protection but i might be minded to amend the 'humans are still evolving' headline to 'some humans are evolving' because i have met some who may well be devolving if there is such a word.
That's right, and you know who you are.
So what about the other creatures? Why are they content to stay in their allotted place in the scheme of things? Why are none of them developing along the same lines as we did? Will it take a global disaster that wipes us out before the mole or the badger makes the giant leap forward?
I don't know but i suggest we keep a close eye on those meerkats.
6 comments:
i cant understand what you mean. too many big words.
q
"Why are none of them developing along the same lines as we did?"
I don't do this to you often, Lucy, but I'm afraid that your question calls for a big...
*facepalm*
Evolution is not directional. There isn't a big bunch of animals out there slowly becoming more human. Every creature on earth is at precisely the point that evolutionary pressures and natural selection dictate they be at.
And it's been said a kazillion times but it bears repeating once more: Humans did not evolve from monkeys, we share a common ancestor.
I see, probably wrongly judging by the facepalm, that whatever replaces us as top dog (top ape?) will have to develop along the same lines as we did with regards of increased brain power, using tools, weapons etc. They won't become 'human' as we know it but wouldn't it need to progress as we did at the start until it branched off to something else?
i've hear bacteria and or roaches will eventually be the winner...
q
I keep hearing dolphins but they have the disadvantage of being in the sea. We have had the reptiles and the mammals so maybe it's the turn of the birds or the insects.
"whatever replaces us as top dog (top ape?) will have to develop along the same lines as we did"
They won't if evolutionary pressures mitigate against it. You're talking as if, in the event of some '28 Days Later' kind of epidemic that wipes out humanity, there'll be some kind of 'race' among other species to get big thumbs and big brains, in order to be worthy of 'replacing' us... as First Among Mammals (or whatever).
But evolution is blind to any of this heirarchy stuff so it wouldn't be aware of any 'power vacuum' that needed to be filled. I'm not saying that evolution wouldn't change their physiognomies of various creatures over the coming millennia, making them more adept at certain tasks (and less adept at others), but this is happening anyway - with or without the presence of us or any other species.
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