Evolution…or lack thereof?

Original posting date: June 19, 2007

I wonder where we humans as a race are heading. We have the largest brain size to body ratio of all living organisms in the world. We have managed to conquer and adapt to extreme environmental conditions with our technology. We understand the consequences of our actions on other living organisms and are trying to combat the negative effects. We have developed complex languages, writing systems, social systems; our research in the medical field has enabled us to stall death and prolong life to never before imagined life spans; with our explorations into space we are trying to uncover the mysteries of the universe and at the same time reach out to distant life forms…if they exist. And a few years down the line, we might be able to permanently eliminate death with cloning and genetic engineering…

We have evolved into the perfect machine…nature’s greatest creation! You can almost say the most complex and most intelligent creature nature has ever created; We have almost conquered nature, been able to defy its rules with our intelligence. Then again, it makes me wonder, are we giving nature a fair chance, or are we spelling our own doom with our intelligence and technology?

Evolution has worked through the concept of survival of the fittest. Dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago because they could not withstand the destruction caused by the asteroid that struck Earth (the most accepted theory), but some smaller mammals could. These mammals thrived and evolved, and led to our development. Countless diseases and epidemics have almost wiped out the human population many times in history…but some people did survive. These people were the ones who were fittest of all, with the best genetic makeup, and with resistance to those viruses and bacteria.

But today, with the latest medicines and technology, are we giving our bodies a chance to evolve? Our lifestyle has almost made our legs and hands dispensable…we can live with artificial limbs now. Microchip research is enabling blind people to see once more, paralytic patients to use their limbs again, and people with brain degeneration to use their brains again. It’s amazing what our technology can do now, but it has nothing to do with the evolution of our bodies per se…a sick person has as much of a chance today as a healthy person has to survive and live life to the fullest. It’s great that I may have a chance to live a complete life, God forbid something bad happens to me…But I wonder what impact it will have on us as a species?

Our brain is evolving for sure…children nowadays have tremendous capabilities, child prodigies are born a day a dozen now… scientists say our bodies are becoming smaller, but our intelligence is increasing. It’s a joy to see small children using computers at two and three years of age, something my dad is still afraid of… :). At the same time, the percentage of people suffering from depression has increased tremendously…I don’t think people two generations ago even knew that such a thing as depression existed…they would laugh at the prospect. Would you say that our brains are not able to keep up with the changes in our lifestyles? Is our technological evolution faster than what our bodies can keep up with?

I don’t do as much physical work as my parents and grandparents did…When I do exercise, my body aches in places I cannot describe…I become aware of muscles that I never knew existed. Then again, with regard to falling ill…I invariably end up taking medicines for things like flu or cold, which may go away by themselves if you give the body enough time. My tolerance level for pain is extremely low…I end up using an ointment or heat patch rather than roughing it out. Some might say, Why do you want to rough it out when you have all these things available? And I do the same…I never think twice…but don’t you feel that we are doing a disservice to our body by doing this? We are not giving ourselves enough challenges to learn and evolve. Are we spelling our own doom? I don’t want to be compared to the radical mother who refused to give medical treatment to her child suffering from cancer because of her personal and religious beliefs…that is plain stupidity…nor am I preaching that people stop taking medicines. I am just diving into my own thoughts and sharing them with you…The judgment is yours, and I refrain from taking responsibility for your actions.

With respect to overcoming extreme climatic conditions, humans are living in places considered inhospitable for any life form, let alone for us humans. But, it is not because of what our body has learned to do…it’s because of what our technology has enabled us to do. If evolution had taken its due course, the Alaskan and Arctic people might have developed thick fur on their bodies in order to survive the extreme cold…and people living in deserts might have developed humps to store fat and water to survive the near-drought conditions. How funny the world might have looked then? Then again, we all just might be living in the tropics today if we had chosen to stay away from the thick mane and huge hump. :)

I don’t know where we as a race are heading towards…although it’s interesting and frightening at the same time to look forward… I hope it is something that we look into…