Where are we heading to ?

[burninbriar]

Weather you believe in Darwin or Creation, I think we all can agree that evolution does take place on a species wide basis to adapt the species to the ever changing environment and produce a stronger, healthier species. So consider this.
With modern medicine, we have the ability to turn the least attractive into the most attractive through plastic surgery. We can make the most ill live normal lives with no real way of telling that the person is ill.(bad hearts, livers, kidneys, mental disorders, bad teeth, etcetera) With all these undesirable traits being passed from generation to generation virtually unnoticed as far as people's desire for one another and the the desire and ability to reproduce is concerned, one could wonder if we are saving lives in the short run or destroying the race in the long run ? Are we creating a race that will be totally dependent on medicine and machines to keep us alive ? Just think about the radical changes to our environment in just the last 100 years and look at where we are headed. Look at how many children are on behavioral medication, is this an inherited mental disorder perpetuating its self or a parenting alternative ? I could go on and on but I think you all get the point.

I mean no offense to anyone by this and I apologize if it does offend anyone, its just something I've often thought about.

[Oscerot]

That can't offend anyone.

Anyways, a rise in child "disorders" is heavily due to the media (such as ADD) and possibly toxins that people obtain from foods and or uncertified drugs. Human beings today are technically superior from a physical and mental point of view than any other generation before us. So that being said, we can only keep improving.

Also, the field of genetic engineering is really going to make way for our advancements in the future I believe.

[pankaaj]

Weather you believe in Darwin or Creation, I think we all can agree that evolution does take place on a species wide basis to adapt the species to the ever changing environment and produce a stronger, healthier species. So consider this.
With modern medicine, we have the ability to turn the least attractive into the most attractive through plastic surgery. We can make the most ill live normal lives with no real way of telling that the person is ill.(bad hearts, livers, kidneys, mental disorders, bad teeth, etcetera) With all these undesirable traits being passed from generation to generation virtually unnoticed as far as people's desire for one another and the the desire and ability to reproduce is concerned, one could wonder if we are saving lives in the short run or destroying the race in the long run ? Are we creating a race that will be totally dependent on medicine and machines to keep us alive ? Just think about the radical changes to our environment in just the last 100 years and look at where we are headed. Look at how many children are on behavioral medication, is this an inherited mental disorder perpetuating its self or a parenting alternative ? I could go on and on but I think you all get the point.

I mean no offense to anyone by this and I apologize if it does offend anyone, its just something I've often thought about.

yaa..good pt to think!
Bt thn it is also possible tht the pop dependin on medicines might get destroyed and independent may survive!
And after all,means , I think tht we r not obeying the natural laws hence thinking on such a topic will require anthr new theory like tht of Darwin's!

[alextemplet]

I've thought about that before; today's super-technology really is making our species weak. It's not just in health and medicine, though, it's also in intelligence. I seriously believe that people today are dumber than they were a century or two ago, a large part of that being because they simply don't have to think as much as they used to.

[burninbriar]

I really don't think we are doomed, but since the things we do to correct dysfunctions that a person was born with are not going to be passed on to the next generation, it seems to defy logic that we can circumvent the process of natural selection and survival of the fittest and still prosper as a species.
As for our general intelligence, I guess if you don't use it, you lose it. I think degeneration of unused organs and such is something supported by both evolution and creation theory's, I think, correct me if I'm wrong.

[mith]

With great power comes great responsibility....

[AstusAleator]

That can't offend anyone.

Anyways, a rise in child "disorders" is heavily due to the media (such as ADD) and possibly toxins that people obtain from foods and or uncertified drugs. Human beings today are technically superior from a physical and mental point of view than any other generation before us. So that being said, we can only keep improving.

Also, the field of genetic engineering is really going to make way for our advancements in the future I believe.

I disagree that we are superior to previous generations, in a physiological sense. Humans from the Pleistocene would be just as physicall fit, if not moreso, than our modern professional athletes. They had to be, otherwise they were dead or dying.

Your point about the field of genetics is interesting. Do you think we're anywhere even close to the point where we can and will start tampering with the human genetic code? I think a little thing called ethics might get in the way of that...

Child disorders are caused by many things, and genetic predisposition should not be discounted.

[kjle]

That can't offend anyone.

Anyways, a rise in child "disorders" is heavily due to the media (such as ADD) and possibly toxins that people obtain from foods and or uncertified drugs. Human beings today are technically superior from a physical and mental point of view than any other generation before us. So that being said, we can only keep improving.

Also, the field of genetic engineering is really going to make way for our advancements in the future I believe.

I also disagree. I think our dependence on medicine and machines has indeed weakened us, as Alex said. And our minds are being dumbed down by the media. Take for a simple example the use of calculators. In my growing up years I was never allowed to use a calculator until like grade 10. Now, all kids are using them starting very early. And my ability to calculate numbers in my head far surpasses my peers who used calculators growing up. This may be a very limited case, but I hope you can see the point I'm trying to make. Machines can only weaken us, and I believe they will continue to do so.

I think if anyone believes that this world is getting better, and healthier, they are sorely mistaken. It's just a simple law of entropy.

[Linn]

I agree

Calculaters were never allowed when I was in school

And I dont believe in ADD
I think these poor kids are not getting enough excercise.
And society keeps increasing the school hours nd decreasing gym and recess.
What the heck do they expect a kid is going to do with all that pent up energy? Kids especially boys cant sit still for hours and hours and hours
It's also wrong to give these kids drugs. IMO

This is a subject that gets me a bit mad

[mith]

Then kids get screwed over on non-calc tests....

[alextemplet]

I agree with Linn, Kyle, and Astus. ADD doesn't exist and all our technology has severely weakened us both physically and mentally. I was thinking about this earlier today, how it seems to be sort of a cycle. Our intelligence allowed us to develop the technology that has allowed our species to take over the planet, yet that same technology has also weakened us and will, I believe, result in the ultimate downfall of humanity. I know that sounds a bit pessimistic and dramatic, but think about it. Throughout history, people have gotten dumber and dumber at a rate proportionate to technological development. If people continue getting dumber, we'll no longer have the brains to produce and use the technology! And at that point our society will self-destruct. That's my thoughts on the matter, at least.

[mith]

Sometimes, it's not that maybe it's because we have such large populations that extremes are more likely to be seen. Maybe percentage-wise there really aren't that many more dumb people, just that our standards have changed and we see numerically more of them.

This idea was brought up in a Dilbert book but I think it does make a lot of sense. Every once in a while there's going to be a genius born who invents something. At first it was something simplistic like a spear, everyone could grasp that....however with the advent of printing, ideas and inventions have grown progressively more complex while our brains haven't really had time to evolve. While a select few are pioneering, the rest of us are just treading water as fast as we can.