Can we be at the top of the food chain forever?

Originally posted by surfup
Can we always be at the top of the food chain? [Edited on 24-12-2003 by surfup]

Yes we bloody well can and will.

we will kill ourselves and another species will take other, all it takes is time...

Bah und humbug! here's what it comes down to:

1. Odds are, humans are going to wipe themselves out before we evolve, either by hook (nuclear/biological/chemical war) or by crook (pollution or our excessively poor breeding habits).

2. should we NOT render ourselves extinct, we will be either so bloodied from fighting ourselves, or will be on your disapora throughout space, which makes for a whole new kettle of fish.

3. There are tons of animals/insects which could take our place if we fell. Some people predict mammoth jellyfish. others, cockroaches. Your question is a little open, but if humans were to vanish right now, my guess would be wolves would be the dominant land species. in the water, it's questionable since we don';t know what's out there. It depends where you go, but maybe whales or dolphins would make a comeback.

DE

We are actually supposed to eat low in the food chain (vegetation, fruits...) The reason we think we are so powerful is because we became ignorant after eating all these animal intestines full of # (hot dogs), that meat full of growth hormones and pain. Human race is not evolved, human race is mentally sick and is destroying itself and its environment. Where are the solar electric cars and grids, how come animal testing still exists, do we need a microchip implant to be controlled by few people, do we need one more war, how will we breath after the amazon beign clearcutted?

Excuse my french accent.

Originally posted by kalki
We are actually supposed to eat low in the food chain (vegetation, fruits...) The reason we think we are so powerful is because we became ignorant after eating all these animal intestines full of # (hot dogs), that meat full of growth hormones and pain. Human race is not evolved, human race is mentally sick and is destroying itself and its environment. Where are the solar electric cars and grids, how come animal testing still exists, do we need a microchip implant to be controlled by few people, do we need one more war, how will we breath after the amazon beign clearcutted?

Excuse my french accent.

Again, this is why we might die off. Problem the first: Humans are omnivorous. Fruits and nuts are all fine and good, but our bodies are just as at home sucking the marrow out of a bear's bone. Secondly, electric junk is expensive and inefficient (speaking from a purely mechanical point of view, fossil fuels provide the most bang for your buck). Thirdly, I don't see humans exactly volunteering in huge numbers to test whatnot.

we're screwed any way you cut it.

DE

Originally posted by DeusEx


Again, this is why we might die off. Problem the first: Humans are omnivorous. Fruits and nuts are all fine and good, but our bodies are just as at home sucking the marrow out of a bear's bone. Secondly, electric junk is expensive and inefficient (speaking from a purely mechanical point of view, fossil fuels provide the most bang for your buck). Thirdly, I don't see humans exactly volunteering in huge numbers to test whatnot.

we're screwed any way you cut it.

DE

no comments...

Here's a link for your evolved brain deusex

Do you mean in an x-men sort of way? they would still be us if they evolved from us.


Yes and No. Yes to evolved from us and no to x men sort of way.

I don't understand evolution that much, but can't a species be different if they evolve from us? Didn't birds evolve from dinosaurs or vice versa and be different from them?

If they did evolve from different species, how long will it take? 1000 or 10000 or 1 million years

Can't mutation create a community of humans that could be superior to humans? Not like X-men. But have qualities that humans don't have - strong smell or superior strength.

Originally posted by DeusEx
....
DE

How about parallel evolution that is happening the same humans were evolving?

Can't a species be in a hidden environment evolving right now, becoming stronger than us?

What are the odds of that happening?

wouldn't that only happen if there were a part of mankind that were kept in isolation from the rest of the population and had to live with different conditions that would cause them to evolve in a different way.
I suppose that it has happened anyway. If you look at tribes of pygmys then that is a case of humans that have evolved differently, and from the point of view of some of the tribes that live in the rainforests that we are destroying then what you are suggesting is actually reality for them now.

On educational tv recently there was a program on how man originated in Africa, then spread out across the globe. When man got to the Northern Ice Age glacial areas he gradually got shorter in the torso, arms, and legs. Supposedly this was to conserve heat because there is less surface area for it to radiate from. This did not make him superior or able to take over people in other parts of the world. It only enabled him to function better in his part of the world. My best guess is that nothing will evolve from us and take over, but that we might destroy ouselves allowing other species to take our place.

Originally posted by groingrinder
My best guess is that nothing will evolve from us and take over, but that we might destroy ouselves allowing other species to take our place.

Good guess. But can a species evolve not from us, but maybe someother type that could be superior to us in our part of the world?

No one ever answered this question: How long will it take for them to evolve?

anything is possible but you have to remember that all the while any other creature is evolving we too are evolving along side them.We are already a long way ahead of them. I still say that it is bacteria that will mutate into something that will wipe us out one day. So that is your answer.

Originally posted by pantha
...it is bacteria that will mutate into something that will wipe us out one day. So that is your answer.

If a mutant form of bacteria wipes us almost out, can't the other species that might be still behind us attack us and destroy the rest of us because of our disadvantage?

not if we were to retain our technology. If the population was greatly reduced due to a super virus we would still have the ability to use weapons against any predators.
Of course if our demise caused a boom in the amounts of wildlife out there ,which would happen as we are the cause of the death of most species of animal ,then yes we would find our selves having to defend our selves against many animals.
It would become a jungle out there but I'm sure that we would increase in numbers again.
Animals have become extinct when their environment has changed in the past but I think that we would be able to adapt to most changes. We don't have to rely on one source of food unlike many other species.
I don't think that another species would evolve quickly enough for us to have not built up our numbers again and regained any technology that we may have lost.

So you are arguing that even if we were reduced in great numbers we might still be able to fight against a threat from a superior species?

And the chances of another species evolving that could be superior to us right here on earth is very low.

Right?

Surfup, sit down and stop asking so many damn questions. I'm going to answer as many of your questions as I can.

1. Evolution depends on three things: competition, environment and species. It takes 10-20 generations for a single dominant trait to appear, as in selective breeding.

2. The odds of parallel evolution are minimal. Even if there was a pocket of cromagnion or neanderthal or a subspecies of human out there 'better' than us, we'd just nuke it and be done with it. We're greedy like that.

3. Again, evolution from a human being is unlikely, because 'bad' genes continue to be passed on. ei. If you've ever had to take antibiotics, you should be dead by now.

4. Yes, if we are weakened another species could potentially wipe us out, if it was sufficiently evolved.


Now, better?

DE

Originally posted by DeusEx
Now, better?
DE

Feeling great...Thanks.