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General Science => Question of the Week => Topic started by: thedoc on 15/05/2014 21:00:42

Title: QotW - 14.03.31 - Is technology steering human evolution?
Post by: thedoc on 15/05/2014 21:00:42

"will we get thicker bones and tooth enamel to deal with longer lifespan? Will we have longer and more muscular index fingers to cope with touch screens and computer mouses?"
Asked by Stephan from Zurich

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Title: Re: QotW - 14.03.31 - Is technology steering human evolution?
Post by: Oceanbliss on 16/12/2014 08:02:12

Very interesting theories dude! most liekly yes! I mean thinking about it we might even grow more fingers to help us type even faster... If our bodies feel a urgency for something it will adapt.

Title: Re: QotW - 14.03.31 - Is technology steering human evolution?
Post by: David Cooper on 16/12/2014 18:41:27

Think about how evolution works. People need to have a breeding advantage from being better adapted to the environment. If the people who can't cope so well with new gadgets are still helped to breed as much as the ones who can type fast, or whatever other advantages they might have, then there will be no evolution to select for those skills.

Title: Re: QotW - 14.03.31 - Is technology steering human evolution?
Post by: alancalverd on 16/12/2014 20:23:47

Typing is a transient pastime, hopefully soon to be replaced by voice activation of everything, and the realisation that most of what is typed is never read - or certainly never acted upon. People who spend their lives playing with screens and keyboards are in fact life's losers and will be outbred and outfought by those who don't. For the time being, secondary and tertiary markets dominate western society but with the imminent collapse of derivative capitalism, the world will be ruled by those who produce food, not those who buy and sell it.