Has evolution stopped with humans?

Post by **otseng** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 9:14 am

Evolutionists believe that humans are the pinnacle of evolution. But, will there ever be something else that humans will evolve into? Or has evolution stopped with humans?

Emerson · Post by **Emerson** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 11:38 am

I am well aware of the scientific definition. I was making a general statement. Progression from "early life" to Humans is definitely taking the bigger/stronger path.

Lotan · Post by **Lotan** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 2:32 pm

If bigger, stronger, and smarter are the benchmarks by which you are measuring evolution then the sperm whale is probably top of the heap right now. Neanderthal man was certainly more muscular than modern humans and had a larger brain too, but where is he now?
Bigger, stronger, or smarter are not ends unto themselves but only to the extent that they confer an advantage for an organism to survive and reproduce. For example being big and strong can be a disadvantage when food resources are scarce. Evolution would then favour smaller individuals with more modest metabolic requirements. In other words, bigger, stronger, smarter does not mean more evolved.

Emerson · Post by **Emerson** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 4:17 pm

Again: I meant this in a general sense. A chimp is bigger than a bacteria. A human is bigger than a chimp. We have been generally getting bigger.

I can see no reason being big and strong and smart would be a disadvantage if food is scarce. A bigger, stronger animal would be able to fight/scare off the smaller/weaker animals and would be the one getting the food. A smarter animal is smart enough to hunt or find new methods of finding food.

bernee51 · Post by **bernee51** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 5:27 am

Emerson wrote:Again: I meant this in a general sense. A chimp is bigger than a bacteria. A human is bigger than a chimp.

In a general sense it is nonsense to say that bigger etc = more evolved. Where are the dinosaurs? They were superceded by tiny little proto-mammals.

BTW what do your beliefs tell you about Neanderthals? Were they god's failed experiment at creating homo sapiens? Or do you deny their existence?

Emerson wrote: We have been generally getting bigger.

I blame fast food

Emerson · Post by **Emerson** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 6:22 pm

Neanderthal Man was nothing but modern man with an arched back (arthritis, whatever).

bernee51 · Post by **bernee51** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:13 pm

Emerson wrote:Neanderthal Man was nothing but modern man with an arched back (arthritis, whatever).

{{{{GUFFAW}}}}}

I almost choked on my corn flakes when I read this,

Please don't make statements that are not backed up by facts.

Here are some facts

Just in case you are too busy to read the enture article here is a short excerpt from a study of mitochondral DNA...

"Is the Neandertal outside the human range?

Yes.

Note that because two modern human sequences are 24 bases apart, while the smallest Neandertal/human difference is only 22, does not mean the Neandertal sequence is within the range of modern humans. ...

In other words, for all three measurements (minimum, average and maximum distances to other humans), the Neandertal measurement is much larger than the maximum value of the same measurement from a sample of 994 modern humans, and even further from the average value. The Neandertal is not merely outside the human range, but well outside it."