Biology/Evolution Questions

Biologists, I have 2 questions.

1. Is it possible that our species (homo sapiens) could someday divide into two distinct species?

2. Is it possible that sameday, a species evolved from today's primates could "catch up" with us in regards to intelligence?

TBoneJack said:

Biologists, I have 2 questions.

1. Is it possible that our species (homo sapiens) could someday divide into two distinct species?

2. Is it possible that sameday, a species evolved from today's primates could "catch up" with us in regards to intelligence?

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!.NO. 2.NO. Not while we are around.

1. Yes, it's happened before.




2. Doubtful.

1. yes im pretty sure that money is the new marker of success and class seperation may force segregation of fit/unfit individuals via performance based selections.
2.by what measure of intelligence? A human IQ test?
yeah im sure its possible but not probable, homo sapien population is about 7 billion strong and we've yet to mutate or evolve far enough away from the original design to lead to the creation of a new species I think its far more probable that human populations will continue to grow and the lesser primate population sizes will dwindle until they reach a steady plateau in zoos and small pockets of conserved forests and some genius will genetically modify them using human DNA (unethical) in some backwards ass country like korea or china and well have human intelligence level primates in about 1/1000000000 the time nature would take.... if it ever even happened. not enough variation in the tiny wild populations imo and even a freak mutant would need time to establish a territory and pass on his genes ( unlikely with tiny populations, poaching and short life expectancy in nature) unless some type of selective breeding program geared towards high levels of intelligence were started and maintained for a long time...looooong time.

1. It has happened many times in the past, but I doubt it will happen again in the future. It requires thousands of years of isolation for such things to happen. There is a lot of evidence that modern Eurasians are human-neanderthal hybrids. There are also instances of such things happening relatively recently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Deer_Cave_people
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_floresiensis

2. Not without some Island of Dr Moreau style genetic engineering. It will probably happen someday though.

1. Depends on what one means by species. Its a subjective man-made classification whose meaning is susceptible to change in the future. That said, with our current definition it's unlikely to occur naturally because everyone is shagging everyone. However, with computer and cybernetic enhancements it may be possible in the future also cloning and genetic technology may mean that one-day people could have genomes selected by their 'parents' for desirable traits.

2. Depends on the definition of 'intelligence'. If intelligence means an ability to survive and pass on our genes to subsequent generations then we're far from the most intelligent creatures on our planet. Only when intelligence is defined with strict anthropological criteria do we come up top. Ironically, in defining intelligence in this way we actually show our ignorance and hubris as a species.

TBoneJack said:

Biologists, I have 2 questions.

1. Is it possible that our species (homo sapiens) could someday divide into two distinct species?

2. Is it possible that sameday, a species evolved from today's primates could "catch up" with us in regards to intelligence?

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1) already has. Just look around, idiocracy.

2) more likely we devolve to their level

If this discussion weren't specifically pointed to primates I would say that we need to examine the intelligence of both Cetacean's and Cefalopod's closer.
I have interacted with both and am not convinced I am any more "intelligent" than some of the various individuals/groups in these classes.

GreatwhiteNorth said:

If this discussion weren't specifically pointed to primates I would say that we need to examine the intelligence of both Cetacean's and Cefalopod's closer.
I have interacted with both and am not convinced I am any more "intelligent" than some of the various individuals/groups in these classes.

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i remember seeing 2 older future prediction type shows and they both thought along after we go wed be replaaced by sqidlike beings lol

SnapsProvolone said:

1) already has. Just look around, idiocracy.

2) more likely we devolve to their level

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I dont buy that that could ever happen, more likely a freak smart person would realize he was a beast and capitalize on everyone monarchy/dictatorship style and have a bunch of smart kids that would eventually even it out once one of the 2 classes decided they felt threatened by the other..... lmao im loaded

GreatwhiteNorth said:

If this discussion weren't specifically pointed to primates I would say that we need to examine the intelligence of both Cetacean's and Cefalopod's closer.
I have interacted with both and am not convinced I am any more "intelligent" than some of the various individuals/groups in these classes.

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But they're both still mucking around in water.
Corvidae...I believe they beat Cetaceans in intelligence by mass.

And that is the extent of my biology knowledge
Do we get credit just for showing up? Or is there going to be an exam?

heckler73 said:

But they're both still mucking around in water.
Corvidae...I believe they beat Cetaceans in intelligence by mass.

And that is the extent of my biology knowledge
Do we get credit just for showing up? Or is there going to be an exam?

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Funny you bring them up - I live where there are lots of both Crows and Raven's.
On several occasions I have watched them sliding down warehouse roof's in the snow on their back. Really funny, once they get to the bottom they hop to their feet, fly back up to the peak and do it again. This goes on for up to 30 minutes sometimes.
Cool to watch.

For playing.

GreatwhiteNorth said:

Funny you bring them up - I live where there are lots of both Crows and Raven's.
On several occasions I have watched them sliding down warehouse roof's in the snow on their back. Really funny, once they get to the bottom they hop to their feet, fly back up to the peak and do it again. This goes on for up to 30 minutes sometimes.

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You have seen this live? That would be impressive, but I have only seen vids. The current trick they are doing around here is digging up people's lawns (specifically moss, from my observations up close), looking for larvae. It seems to be a periodic phenomenon, every 6-8 years. It starts near the docks (suggesting imported), and appears to be Chafer Beetles. Apparently they are a delicacy amongst the local population? I have no idea...can crows taste salt?

But I heard someone suggest they were farming the little buggers.
It is known from experiment they can think ahead in stages. If they observe enough humans conducting farming methods, watch enough squirrels bury nuts and forget them, only to see sprouts spring from them...It can only be a matter of time, or a number of trials, before critical consciousness is reached. From there it becomes a game of chinese-telephone. They are champs at that.

However, I have not seen this directly, and in fact have only seen them do this digging in a particular spot once, then move on to another spot on the same lawn but next day. Eventually, the whole lawn could be overturned. But as stated prior, I've only seen them hit the moss for the most part, leaving healthy grass intact. That seems logical, since it is easier to tear out. At the same time, perhaps they are trying to build habitats for them?

If they had that capability, it would definitely put them at a stage ahead of chimps. Using tools is one thing, but consciously changing the environment to affect ecology for productive purposes is a step above. Either that or learning to use fire.
Farming or Fire...

This chimp is learning to farm chestnuts (I think).