Are humans coming to a stagnation in evolution?

[Sucumbio]

I think we will continue to evolve. Brain usage for instance. We still don't use a lot of it. We may one day develope telekenesis or something.

 

[GwJ]

If you're referring to the idea that humans only use a small portion of the brain, that's just a myth. Humans use the majority of their brain actively.

 

[Sucumbio]

Good point, lol. Hmmmmmm....

maybe something like this?

 

[Vinylic.]

How about this instead:
http://www.livescience.com/5859-future-evolution.html

 

[GwJ]

That article brought up something that's very interesting as well. What's going to happen to us if we branch out into colonies on other planets. I'd imagine we'd get two totally different species of human given enough time. That just makes my head spin to think about.

 

[Vinylic.]

I've also been hearing that during the evolution, we're getting less hair than before because we're becoming resistant to the sun's radiation.

Something like that.

 

[GwJ]

We also don't really need the hair. We have artificial means of addressing the problem of warmth. Not that it really matters. How much hair we have doesn't really affect how well we survive anymore and since evolution isn't directed by anything, there's no reason to think we're adapting less hair. If we are getting less hair, it's an accident of evolution rather than an adaptation.

 

[Vinylic.]

Good point, but I don't want a shiny head, lol.

 

[Dre89]

Actually why is it we still only have hair in certain areas? At first, looking at places like the armpits and pubic area I thought it would be to prevent friction from skin rubbing together, but that doesn't account for other areas and why males have more than females.

 

[GwJ]

I watched a documentary on evolution and it addressed the hair loss we have. Apparently in the African planes, the natives there run all the flippin' time for hours on end to not outrun their prey, but out-endure their prey. The loss of hair was beneficial in that it allowed humans to sweat. If we were covered in fur, we wouldn't have developed the ability to sweat and thus couldn't perform this out-endurance and wouldn't beat able to eat.

Not sure why we still have armpit and pubic hair though, maybe we're not done with our hair loss yet?

 

[Dre89]

Or why males have more hair.

 

[rvkevin]

Or why males have more hair.

Men do have a smaller body fat percentage, but I'm not sure if that is the reason.

Edit: Also, it could be sexual selection.

 

[GwJ]

Well, gender roles played a more significant in the early days of man, so maybe that had something in it. Would being a gatherer as opposed to a hunter cause such a difference possibly? I'm trying to think of why men would need to have more hair. I mean, it's totally possible that it's just a fluke since that happens all the time in evolution.

 

[Vinylic.]

Well, gender roles played a more significant in the early days of man, so maybe that had something in it. Would being a gatherer as opposed to a hunter cause such a difference possibly? I'm trying to think of why men would need to have more hair. I mean, it's totally possible that it's just a fluke since that happens all the time in evolution.

I just got this from yahoo answers, lol.

Men are hunter-gatherers. Men need to go out and hunt for meat and gather vegetation, and sometimes it gets cold. That's what hair is for.

Women are the preparers. They take what the men have brought and make it into a meal. They're always by the fire or taking care of the children. That's why there's not as much hair on women.

it is mainly because of the presence of some specific hormones present in our body like when this hormone is present in females it stops the growth of hair and because men have no need for this hormone in our body we naturally become hairy

the hormones name is oestrogen

I'm not much of smart guy about this certain topic, which is why I always look up for sources to help out people in need of an answer. :/

 

[Dre89]

http://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_says_we_evolved_from_aquatic_apes.html

This lady believes that the reason why we're almost hairless is due to the fact that we evolved from aquatic apes. Her argument is pretty strong, but she fails to misrepresent the opposition correctly. For example, she says the only aquatic mammal that has retained a fur coat is the sea otter, when there are couple of others, such as penguins.

 

[GwJ]

Aren't penguins birds?

 

[GofG]

yes, they are.

 

[gm jack]

It's a theory, but it is very on the outside of what is accepted. Generally, human evolution is taken as occurring through evolution towards a cursorial, bipedal lifestyle. The loss of hair may have been an adaptation to warmer climates, and when migration to colder areas occurred, it was dealt with behaviourally (e.g. clothing) rather than evolutionarily. Males may have retained more as a sexually selected characteristic.

The thing to remember is that, in a technical sense, modern humans are still represented by what could be considered several species, in terms of the genetic differences between different groups. Evolution is a continuing process. Modern technology is simply shifting the parameters in what is being selected for.

 

[Dre89]

Aren't penguins birds?

I am so stupid.

But one of the comments on the video listed a couple of mammals and listed penguins, so I automatically mentioned that one as it was the easiest to remember.

 

[GwJ]

Yeah, it's fine. I understand what you meant lol.

 

[gm jack]

Birds will be very different to mammals in terms of insulation though. Subcutaneous (under skin) fat is very much a mammalian characteristic.

 

[Okuser]

...Male hair growth is caused by testosterone. It's not a complicated evolutionary question

 

[GwJ]

That's not the question we were wondering...

 

[Okuser]

Or why males have more hair.

Men do have a smaller body fat percentage, but I'm not sure if that is the reason.

Edit: Also, it could be sexual selection.

Well, gender roles played a more significant in the early days of man, so maybe that had something in it. Would being a gatherer as opposed to a hunter cause such a difference possibly? I'm trying to think of why men would need to have more hair. I mean, it's totally possible that it's just a fluke since that happens all the time in evolution.

I was responding to these statements.

The reason men have more hair is because of the hormone called testosterone, men have about 40x more of it than women. And it directly causes the growth of hair.

 

[GwJ]

Oh, ok. I thought you were saying that testosterone is the reason we evolved less hair. I was about to say that made absolutely no sense.