What stimulates thought? Is it sitting on a desk and concentrating hard? Its interesting how mundane activities are actually the best thought stimulator. One such thing happened with me yesterday.Walking into the washroom, I noticed a mosquito fly by close to my left foot. Fraction of a second earlier, it was sitting exactly where I placed my foot. If it were not for its ability to fly, the mosquito was dead.
I'm not a student of evolution and my exposure to the theory of Darwin is limited to what I read at high school and a brief introduction during college. As is common knowledge, the possession of wings is an evolutionary development. All winged species originally were land-bound. Development of wings was the only option left to miniature species who given their size and speed on land would've otherwise been crushed under the feet of huge reptiles or gobbled up by lizards and frogs.
I'm not a student of evolution and my exposure to the theory of Darwin is limited to what I read at high school and a brief introduction during college. As is common knowledge, the possession of wings is an evolutionary development. All winged species originally were land-bound. Development of wings was the only option left to miniature species who given their size and speed on land would've otherwise been crushed under the feet of huge reptiles or gobbled up by lizards and frogs.
Human evolution is no different. Over the last million years or so, the homo sapiens have changed significantly. From moving around on 4 legs, we've gone on to use just 2. The change was indispensable as it helped humans run faster and use the other two limbs more efficiently, which was required, given our weak physical built. This and many other such changes have shaped man as we know him now.
But, are we still evolving? "Oh c'mon, don't be silly, of course we are! Its a natural phenomenon. All species evolve with time. Didn't your high school text books contain that part?You're just being stupid. " Is that what you're thinking? Then, think again; are we still evolving?
All evolution takes place because there is a pressing natural need for it. Evolution is important for survival. A species either evolves or perishes. But, humans are different. Humans developed science, a short-cut. Ever since philosophy was put into mathematical equations and even before that, we have come up with methods to simplify our lives. We have tried making everything easier for ourselves. Today, we control the temperature we live in, the kind of food we eat and the purity of water we drink; our body doesn't need to fight diseases anymore, there are medicines to do that. To put it simply, whenever there is a pressing need for change, we simply find a way out of it using technology. Then, where is the need to evolve further? We are fit to survive without physical evolution.
However, this simplification may result into something unprecedented. With time and the kind of precautions we take these days, humans may become the first species whose bodies start devolving. Sooner than later, we shall lose immunity to diseases we are currently not vulnerable to; we may not be able to survive temperatures beyond a certain range; and water may be rendered totally unfit for consumption. After all, it cannot be merely co-incidence that mosquitoes have developed immunity to DDT in merely a few decades while we have continued to remain vulnerable to malaria for millennia.
But, are we still evolving? "Oh c'mon, don't be silly, of course we are! Its a natural phenomenon. All species evolve with time. Didn't your high school text books contain that part?You're just being stupid. " Is that what you're thinking? Then, think again; are we still evolving?
All evolution takes place because there is a pressing natural need for it. Evolution is important for survival. A species either evolves or perishes. But, humans are different. Humans developed science, a short-cut. Ever since philosophy was put into mathematical equations and even before that, we have come up with methods to simplify our lives. We have tried making everything easier for ourselves. Today, we control the temperature we live in, the kind of food we eat and the purity of water we drink; our body doesn't need to fight diseases anymore, there are medicines to do that. To put it simply, whenever there is a pressing need for change, we simply find a way out of it using technology. Then, where is the need to evolve further? We are fit to survive without physical evolution.
However, this simplification may result into something unprecedented. With time and the kind of precautions we take these days, humans may become the first species whose bodies start devolving. Sooner than later, we shall lose immunity to diseases we are currently not vulnerable to; we may not be able to survive temperatures beyond a certain range; and water may be rendered totally unfit for consumption. After all, it cannot be merely co-incidence that mosquitoes have developed immunity to DDT in merely a few decades while we have continued to remain vulnerable to malaria for millennia.
wow.. wonderful.. thoughts which are commonly seen but rarely observed
ReplyDeleteYatish
@Yatish: Most encouraging..a million thanks... :)
ReplyDeleteWell Thought!
ReplyDeleteEvolution is a phenomena observed and evaluated across many aspects of a given species, few of which are physical, behavioural ( which in turn includes group activities, thinking ability and other subjective elements), knowledge et al. I take development of science as part and parcel of evolution as it brought drastic changes to behaviour and way of life of humans.There are instances of many species in world which have drastically changed their methodology of hunting or preying, which we might as well term as science.
As you put it, its true that we have lots of setbacks in the way we are evoluting with the help of science.
Keep thinking and writing! You rock!
@Yash: Thanks for the appreciation man...and your thoughts are well placed..I was expecting someone to come up with this...No denying the behavioral and emotional changes humans shall undergo...my concern is that we're rendering our bodies more vulnerable...
ReplyDelete