Have we irreparably weakened the human race...?

Our distractions turned elsewhere have allowed a flaw to remain in the human evolution.

As we look around in fear (sometimes rightfully so) to this and that, have we allowed the human race to loose it's edge in the grand scheme of things?

We, as humans, have gotten away from the "strong survive" mentality. Will this be a major point in our downfall?

The signs are all over (literally). We make up for the slow and weak of our species by making signs and testings to allow us to ensure that they will not hurt themselves. Mention killing a puppy dog and everyone jumps up, irrate. Mention it was a Pit Bull, and everyone is appeased. Allowing something so devistating to die is perfectly fine. But just don't harm little Fido.

Swimmers get attacked by sharks and public is outraged... Lest we forget that when we are in the ocean, we are in THEIR domain.

Kids get injured by toys when they misuse them and parents get upset. But how many of you like me remember lawn darts...

We seemingly have removed the risk from living, trading euthanasia in for science and prolonged agony, "But don't worry, they won't feel the pain" the doctor says with a smile.

Evolution points forward with the hand of time, but have we stopped our evolution or hindered it by allowing too many of the weaker of our species to survive?

I am not an advocate of killing all the mentally challenged, but I say take down all the "Do Not Jump off Bridge" signs. If they are dumb enough to do it, maybe they shouldn't breed.

If they are dumb enough to operate a chainsaw under the influance and sever a leg, maybe they should have to hop through life.

Surely this much dumbing down of a society cannot be a good thing.

Your thoughts?

reply to post by Jkd Up


I like where you're going with this and I coudn't agree more. Yes we are heading down this path, and unfortunately in our politically correct times... it is a path of no return.

Well, we are due for another plague. You should read Byrd's signature.

Evolution is not driven by "the strongest survive" but by "the best fitted to the environment reproduce."

It's not as catchy, but it's true.

We no longer live in a world where physical prowess is the key factor in surviving long enough to pass on our genes to another generation. We can therefore expect an evolutionary trend away from physical strength and toward social ability.

If due to some terrible disaster, manmade or natural, we find ourselves back in a barebones survival-scenario world, that trend will be reversed.

But we have not weakened the human race; if anything we have strengthened its ability to navigate the modern world. It's also worth noting that the time frame I assume you're talking about (150 years maybe) is nothing in terms of evolution.

Any perceivable change in humanity over such a short period is more likely to result from changes in environment rather than genetic changes.

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On the other hand, I'm right with you on taking down some of the more inane signs. I don't actually think they're there to make life easier for the physically or mentally challenged – I think they're there to protect property owners from rampant personal injury litigation. There probably wouldn't be any effect to the gene pool, but the aesthetic effects would be more than worth it.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
reply to post by Jkd Up

 

I like where you're going with this and I coudn't agree more. Yes we are heading down this path, and unfortunately in our politically correct times... it is a path of no return.

Thank you. I run a thin line with this one because I don't think we should kill all the "non worthy", but there are definatly some that should not be allowed to continue breathing air.

DO you see a way to overrun the political correctness?

Yes i think they are if you look around at modern man in local towns there's probably like 1% that would probably survive in my opinion having to live on nature alone or in extreme conditions the rest are doomed.

The huge steady increase of severe diabetes cases each year in the human population alone as well speaks for it's self.

No doubt about it we have in ways become smarter but we've also become to dependant on technology and medicine.

Originally posted by SR
No doubt about it we have in ways become smarter but we've also become to dependant on technology and medicine.

Thank you for adding that. I hate the people who say we are so much smarter and then you ask them a medial math question and they have to retrieve a calculator to solve it.

Convienance has made us weak and soft.

Originally posted by Jkd Up

Originally posted by SR
No doubt about it we have in ways become smarter but we've also become to dependant on technology and medicine.

Convienance has made us weak and soft.

Whether this is true or not, you are trying to read into it an "irreparable weakening of the human race" implying that this is occurring on a genetic level rather than a cultural level.

It's hardly irreparable that we rely on calculators to figure out what to tip the waiter in a restaurant. We are certainly still capable (biologically speaking) of doing the math for ourselves or even coming up with a clever way of working around it.

Same thing with the increase in diabetes cases. That's not due to genetic predispositions – the genetic predispositions were always there in the same ratios. It's due to our choice to eat tons of sugar and to train our bodies to constantly crave sweetness by feeding them fake sweeteners. That's not irreparable, just stupid.

You're appealing to genetics and evolution to back up your own opinion on what makes a stronger person, and it just doesn't work, because you're not dealing with an evolutionary time frame.

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As for whether most people now would survive in a dog-eat-dog post-apocalyptic world, I think that's incredibly hard to predict. People have resources you never would expect, and many skills are more portable than people realize.

Originally posted by americandingbat

Originally posted by Jkd Up

Originally posted by SR
No doubt about it we have in ways become smarter but we've also become to dependant on technology and medicine.

Convienance has made us weak and soft.

It's hardly irreparable that we rely on calculators to figure out what to tip the waiter in a restaurant. We are certainly still capable (biologically speaking) of doing the math for ourselves or even coming up with a clever way of working around it.

Math is a skill. Something learned. Not something instictual.

If I may be allowed to stir the pot a bit, then is it alright that deformaties or mental weakness is able to pass on it's genes?

The human race for one has been conned into thinking there is no mind control, so there is one aspect with which, we are at a loss.

The people doing the mind control are thick as two planks, remember the tech was only designed by a few, but the people using the tech, are so thick, this is where society is going wrong, and the human race are turing into total zombie fools.

Originally posted by andy1033
The human race for one has been conned into thinking there is no mind control, so there is one aspect with which, we are at a loss.

The people doing the mind control are thick as two planks, remember the tech was only designed by a few, but the people using the tech, are so thick, this is where society is going wrong, and the human race are turing into total zombie fools.

This is true, and the another thing to consiter is that a loss of skills can weaken the human species...

Natural evolution has stopped effecting humans a long time ago, the main thing that will affect our evolution now is social.

Originally posted by Europe
Natural evolution has stopped effecting humans a long time ago, the main thing that will affect our evolution now is social.

And your basis for that is...........?

reply to post by Jkd Up


simple, the second we stopped nature affecting us ( for the better part ) we stopped natural selection, quite a lot of the worlds children are born from arranged marriages, no longer is a mate chosen by skills that would give the best off spring and best chance of survival but rather from there standing among their peers.

[edit on 3-1-2009 by Europe]

Originally posted by Jkd Up

If I may be allowed to stir the pot a bit, then is it alright that deformaties or mental weakness is able to pass on it's genes?

Alright by who? Apparently not by you, but by me yes. I'm not a believer, so I don't have much insight on what God would think of it, if there is such a thing.

By the theory of natural selection, yes. If an organism passes on its genes successfully then it is by definition successful according to natural selection. If over the course of a few centuries there is a trend toward the "mentally weak" reproducing more successfully than the "mentally strong" then there must be some advantage to being "mentally weak".

Evolution is not about physical or mental strength. It's about the ability to successfully reproduce in a specific environment. And it takes centuries or millenia, not decades. That's my point with the math example and the diabetes example, both of which I took from earlier in the thread.

These are not examples of any change in the human race – i.e. the biological genome – but in practices. And they can easily be changed in a generation or less, unlike changes to the genome.

edit: added "or mental" to "physical or mental strength"

[edit on 1/3/09 by americandingbat]

Originally posted by Europe
reply to post by Jkd Up

 

simple, the second we stopped nature affecting us ( for the better part ) we stopped natural selection, quite a lot of the worlds children are born from arranged marriages, no longer is a mate chosen by skills that would give the best off spring and best chance of survival but rather from there standing among their peers.

[edit on 3-1-2009 by Europe]

So, you argee that we are weakening our species?

Evoution is going to continue with or without our help. Evolution is not only for the best. I was thrown off by you saying that we were no longer affected. That's like saying that we no longer need air because we use SCUBA to breathe underwater.

reply to post by americandingbat


Great insight! Thank you!

your scuba analogy makes no sense, and we still have evolution, its just social and not natural, I dont hitnk that we are weakening our species, we are in fact increaseing our chances of surviving anything the planet throws at us, simple maths, and were we go from there would be up to nature(for a while)

I don't know to be perfectly honest, of course at times it seems this way.
But if you try and look at things from a larger perspective.
It would seem that the human race is actually moving forward and getting better.
I guess it depends on how you look at it.

i totaly agree medicine and the human view to "cure" illnesses and making life too comfortably will be our downfall, we are interupting nature, we should just let it happen as thats natural selection, we are not evolving we are not strengthening our race my strenghtening the weak, we are destroying our chances for future evolution and survival imo