Ideas about humanity’s fate are evolving

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Click to trace the family tree of humans and to see five possible futures for our species.

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Mike Thurman, Flagstaff, Ariz.:
Human history will span less time than that of the dinosaurs. We will continue to lengthen our life span and save human lives that in days past would have been lost; human overpopulation will continue at a devastating pace. We will stretch well beyond the capabilities of Planet Earth to sustain us. The only question that remains is: when we finally destroy ourselves, how much of the planet will we take with us?

Gary Propheter, Medford, Ore.:
Unfortunately, I see humankind evolving into the domesticated version. One of the key aspects of civilization has been the declining emphasis on individual ability (intelligence/skill) and the increasing impact of genetic resistance to disease. Modern medicine and genetic engineering will only strengthen this trend as religious traditionalists will prevent measurable diversion from "God's creation." In time ... a new disease will rip out the heart of societies worldwide (remember the black plague?) and all that will be left are some lemmings who don't understand their tools well enough to continue to survive.

Bryan Roth, Hillsboro, Ore.:
I don't really find any of those scenarios possible. Instead, I have found that the only sensible possibility is that there is a God. Yeah, I know that the word God makes some shiver with fear, but evolution just doesn't add up. How could something come from nothing? And if the Big Bang is real, and where did all the energy and matter that made the Bang happen come from? Either way you look at it, you can't say we're alone. There has to be a God — nothing else could have made this marvelous universe.

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David Larson, Texas:
I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and I also fervently believe in evolution. I wish people would acknowledge that evolution could be (and is, in my opinion) yet another part of God's infinitely complex designs.

Randy Daughenbaugh, Rapid City, S.D.:
Once a species controls its environment, evolution stops. Humans are there now, with the possible exception of viruses and bacteria. But we may control them soon too. I don't believe that there will be more evolution until other planets are settled.

Jane, Durham, N.C.:
Image: Unihuman
Unihuman: Skin tones blend. Larger eyes are associated with greater "domestication."
I think the "Unihuman" is far too light to represent a blend of all races on earth. In the global context, fair skin is in the minority. In India and the Middle East, there are people with skins as dark as what people think of as African.

William F. Whisenant, Austin, Texas:
No one has mentioned the way that domesticated animals are manipulated or improved: by selective breeding. Of course, this is such a politically volatile topic that it will seldom be discussed openly, let alone tried. We know many attributes including intelligence have a large genetic component. If one were to truly improve the human species, one would promote the interbreeding of those individuals that represent the best of the characteristics we wish to enhance. Likewise, we would prevent or at least limit the breeding of those from the shallow end of the gene pool.

George Widener, Asheville, N.C.:
The dramatic rise in cases of autism and the research it has spawned may shed light upon our future evolution. The human brain is possibly evolving into a new form which will be truly amazing by today's standards. It is known through studies of savants that the human brain is capable of computerlike computation and memory feats. Yet the vast majority of savants are cognitively disabled. New modern studies of savants indicate that all humans have dormant subconscious savant activity going on. In the future, we will all be Kim Peeks, megasavants but without the disability. There will be a huge quantum leap in our intelligence and memory capabilities.

Walter Mitchell, Albuquerque, N.M.:
Five options:

Humans grow to resemble bad computer graphics, evolve oversimplified adaptations to complex stimuli
Overpopulation and obesity cause humanity to become one single world-covering blob.
Autism becomes an advantageous mutation, humanity separates into idiot-savant ruling class vs. retarded rabble.
As yin becomes yang, as night becomes day, evolution, having long ago reached the peak of its cycle, reversed and we are currently devolving.
By the year 2525, everyone pretty much resembles Michael Jackson in appearance and behavior. One world, one race, one sex.

Dennis, Middletown, Conn.:
I think it is a far more realistic reality that we destroy ourselves. As Einstein said, "I don't know which weapons we will fight World War III with, but I know World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

CONTINUED : Reading lists on future evolution

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