Human race will'split into 2 different species'

MrBrian wrote:

Racial differences will be a thing of the past as interbreeding produces a single coffee-coloured skin tone.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=489653&in_page_id=1965

I've been saying this for awhile now. Race needs to be put in the past.

Collin wrote:

Yeah but coffee-coloured? Isn't coffee black? Like pitch black?

Nah I think he's referring to milk-coffee.. caramel. Just one of his fantasies.

MrSmith wrote:

i dont know about that. Dog breeds come and go pretty quickly with forced selective breeding. Its possible, who knows.

that may be so. but is that what we're talking about here with humans?

and this shouldn't be some huge revelation. rumour has it this is what happened when we evolved differently to our primate cousins from a common ancestor.

What is also rediculous is that with the genetic nature of procreation, even light "coffee colored" skinned individuals can have darker or lighter or pinker children. So unless persons with those qualities stopped procreating all together, the "inbreeding" will never erraticate them.

Also, when everyone supposedly "looks the same"....people will desire something completely different. The definition of "beauty" or "perfection" will change again. Quite possibly then, ugly will be the in thing!

MrBrian wrote:

I think the most accurate part is the major split between brain power. The groups of people that don't read,write or really think much. They just sit around not doing much, if they get sick they just take some meds, they don't gym,run or play sports so they'll have major health issues. When those people have kids, those kids become the same and it continues for thousands of years and they end up being the dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures.

Then the other group, the ones who read, get out and run and whatever else. They will be the ones evolution favors.
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I'm not sure what kind of mutations would be needed to increase brain "power", but over 99% of the possible mutations would result in mental retardation, or something like anencephaly. Evolution takes a long time because it's not directed, it's the result of random mutations, the sheer complexity of the human brain is an enigma and an infinite number of mutations would cause a failure of brain development.

The brain develops through two process, neurogenesis and synaptogenesis, then there is a pruning that occurs during adolescence where unused synapses are pruned away. If 25 generations of a family are "dumb", as in they didn't use their synapses before the pruning process and those synapses were pruned away, they won't pass that down to their children, the 26th generation could be geniuses, because the genes aren't responsible for the previous 25 generations becoming "dumb". Child rearing is the most common cause of stupidity.

In some cases, synesthesia, or agenesis of the corpus collosum, patients have enhanced abilities, such as Kim Peek, who can remember anything from a book, but they have defecits, Kim can't dress himself. Daniel Tammet can recite Pi to 25,000 decimal places, he sees numbers as shapes, but he's also frightened by certain numbers, they have an impact on him that isn't easily understood. Although Tammet is capable of functioning in a seemingly normal way, there is the clear defecit of his synesthesia of having false representations, especially the ones that frighten him.

So, it isn't clear to me, how this split could occur, and the liklihood of it occuring seems slim. If the specific mutations required are possible and did occur, which is probably 1:Googolplex, they would have to have positive global effects to be classified as "smarter", since intelligence is not a global system, it's diffuse and it's value can only be measured per application. If you met Kim Peek in a library he would seem to be a genius (with some social problems), but seen performing simple tasks, like tying his shoes, he would appear retarded.

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Hmmm... interesting theory.

I wonder where disabled people will fit?

Dashingly physically attractive and yet thick as turds?

Or incredibly bright, hugely intellectual yet physically 'a bit wrong'?

Maybe the scientists will review the theory and add a 3rd race.

oh disabled people will be nonexistent. surely man will evolve past such things.

there won't be any ugly, unintelligent creatures, i'm not even going to waste my time describing why i think so.

i just think this article is rather fictional

With the genetic engineering that appears on the horizon, I can definitely see a split between the wealthy & the non-wealthy.

For now, any executive board's appearance tells me that the genetic playing field is still pretty level, for now.

But then again, Western civilization is breeding less & less, while this is not true in Third World nations. So maybe I should not have posted these thoughts at all.

soulsinging wrote:

wealth breeds looks though. go to a wealthy suburban high school and compare the girls there to those in the inner city. with the latest clothes, tanning beds, regular waxes, fancy jewelry, and perfect teeth, etc. you can in many cases "buy" beauty.

That's true, but that's not really genetic (I don't think you were saying this, by the way). Tanning, waxing, bleached teeth, getting your herr did, clothes from The Gap, etc, doesn't begat more attractive offspring than their poorer counterparts.