human evolution

I support the theory of evolution and the immense amount of facts behind it. But one thing that's always puzzled me is how human evolution has been so constant, differing in skin color and facial structure at most

Darwin's theory of natural selection suggests the survival of the fittest, which is why other specIes and their different types have characteristics suited for their environments. I guess that birds are a good example?

But if then, why haven't humans evolved and to adapt to our environments?
For example, people from Exceptionally hot and cold regions do not have any unique physical characteristics. We all have the same physical characteristics, even tribes that have never had contact with the outer world.

my extreme expectation is the inuits being incredibly furry, and africans having thick humps, much like camels to store water

Can anyone enlighten me by telling me what I've missed?

 

People do evolve. Peoples brains usually evolve more then physical qualities. Like if an Eskimo knows how to make a coat they can survive better than someone hairy. Humans do adapt physically people from warmer places have darker skin, put a white person in that climate and they'll burn. Asians have narrow eyes so sand can't get in as easily.

 

We're at a point in human development where we don't need to adapt to our environments because there are so many man-made structures and devices which make living almost anywhere possible for most people. In a way we've stunted our own evolution because we don't face the elements or nature as much as in the past.

 

70i: So we don't evolve more physically because of what Roary said?
I don't really understand why people in warmer climates have darker skin though. Wouldn't it be more effective if they were white, as to not absorb more light? Or does heat and light have nothing in correlation in this case
And I don't understand why Mongoloids adapted to live in sandy conditions; isn't squinty eyes what mid-eastern and african people would have need?
But yeah, I guess that I agree that it's our brains that evolved, maybe that's why black people steal so much haha joking

I guess that makes sense

But one question remains unanswered; how did we all evolve the same

 

If you compare a black African and a white European, for example, we're not all exactly the same.

 

Yeah what Roary said. A lighter skin person nowadays could live in a sunnier climate because of sunscreen.

I would think so, but at least they won't burn. Maybe they evolved to stay cooler somehow to make up for this.

We're distant ancestors from every other animal. People are humans because we all have closer common ancestors.

People are still going to evolve, but not as much from nature. People who are taller, clearer skin, or smarter are all more likely to reproduce.

 

No, the darker pigment helps protect the skin from the sun.

 

Humans do adapt to their environment, but we don't necessarily need to evolve some specific traits to do so. Your body adapts to temperature changes as it is, it may take a little while but you become accustomed to new environments.

If we have yet to develop certain characteristics, I'd say either such changes to the human body is not needed for survival, or the genetic mutation has yet to take place to allow us to adopt such characteristics. Then again, it's quite possible soon we will be pushing ourselves through evolution (hello scientists/editing gnome/all that jazz.)

Also, having darker skin may help protect you from the sun, but it is still very possible to get burnt (whether you can see this burn is an entirely different story.)

Someone get Jimmy up in here, he probably knows all about this.

Because we were a relatively isolated and close species (from my understanding, I'm not incredibly well versed in evolution and human origination.) Modern-day humans all originated from Northern Africa.

I'm not sure if you're using not exactly the same as a wide or small comparison (many or little differences.) But we're incredibly similar outside of the pigmentation that developed after the split from Northern Africa + the slight mutations that came from it.

 

Ok, bio major here lol. Basically, evolution uses natural selection. In other words, evolution is guided by "survival of the fittest" amongst other things. However, just because an organism doesn't survive well in a certain conditition does not necessarily lead to evolution.

Think of a bell graph and now imagine a single species finch with different sized beaks. bigger, shorter beaks are better for cracking open really hard and really big nuts whereas smaller but longer beaks are better for digging into holes and cracking smaller nuts. Now imagine that an extreme dry season occurs, so a ton less nuts are available, and the only nuts available are very small since they take less energy to produce than bigger and harder ones. All of the finches are going to go for these nuts, and the finches with smaller beaks are going to be much more present than finches with bigger beaks. This is because the finches with bigger beaks struggle more than the other finches. They need more energy to survive, and just don't fit into the specified niche as well. Note that they don't completely die out, however. The smaller beaked finches are going to survive much better and fit into that niche much better.

The next season is then a wet season. The finches with the larger beaks are going to survive much better and increase in numbers because tons more bigger and harder nuts are available. The smaller nuts are much less available, and the small beaked finches are going to very much decrease in numbers like the big beaked finches had during the previous season. This is natural selection, NOT evolution.

Evolution takes years upon years upon years upon years to manifest, and will manifest only with a persistent condition. With your thoughts of the inuits and the africans didn't happen because temperature was never a selected trait. However, if you look at skin color and melanin content, this would have been a selected upon trait since UV radiation is doing constant damage to your skin. Whites didn't need nearly as much melanin, and there was nothing there to "make it be naturally selected" ie-there was nothing to make it manifest. However, those with darker skin color had that manifest because it was needed. Skin color isn't really an "evolved" trait, its a selected trait.

I HIGHLY suggest for you guys to read "The Beak of The Finch" by Jonathan Weiner. It is a REALLY good read, and is actually a fun read too. I learned one hell of a lot and had a good time doing it too lol.

 

monkeys i tell you!!