Predictions of how Species might change over time dates back centuries. Careful observation and following of how particular species change, especially the Evolution of humans, over time has been one of the primary cornerstones of natural science. Oddly, up until recently, the one species this really has yet to be done with in any sort of predictive, systemic way is our own.
What effect might environmental changes have on the Human species. What physical changes will this invoke through the process of natural selection? There seems to be not only an exeptionalism but exceptioninsm on the part of scientist when it comes to their own species. Humans are animals like anything else. A such we are subject to evolution and biological change as any other animal on earth. All this begs the question as to what human beings might look like in the future.
Best Guess
Some, including many futurists, would quite reasonably argue that making any sort of future prediction is a tricky, if not sometimes dodgy, proposition. And that is just for near-future predictions.
When one gets into far-future predictions, generally defined at 100-5,000 years in the future, is generally considered, at best, a fool’s errand.
Despite this conventional ‘wisdom’ there are some free thinking rebels with a cause who are still trying to use all the predictive techniques at their disposal to try and come up with what they will readily admit is an educated guess, based on the precedence the evolution of humans and what has already happen with regard to environmentally influenced adaptive evolution.
At the forefront of this new predictive frontier, are researcher Nickolay Lamm and Dr. Alan Kwan, who are attempting to guess at the question as to what humans might look like in various points in the future ranging from 20,000, 60,000 and 100,000 years.
Evolution of humans in 20,000 years
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Take heart friends. We could be around for another 20 millennia with little to no change in our genetic make-up. We might be slightly taller, heads might get slightly wider on account of our larger more evolved brains (there’s something to look forward to!) and self applied contact lenses that act like a miniaturized Google Glass. Very much Promised Futures stuff.
Human evolution in 60,000 years
This is when the Evolution of humans may start to getting weird. Thank goodness we will all be long dead, no matter what medical advances might be close on the horizon.
Heads will be even larger. I mean Quentin Tarantino-as-vampire levels. To maintain symmetry the old human eyeballs will have gotten wider as well.
This is most likely due to humans developing intergalactic travel and colonization, living on planets where there is less light. Skin tone will also likely darken on account of pigmentation adjustment for those living outside earth and its protective ozone layer.
Human evolution in 100,000 years
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Head for the hills! Here come the freaks! Not only will human eyes resemble a Bryan Lee O’Malley drawing. Oh, and they will likely be able to ‘sideways blink’ and a basic form of night vision commonly associated with cats and popular Vin Diesel characters.
There will be larger nostrils to make off-planet breathing easier. There is a big possibility humanity will have long finger and hands because we use our hands extremely often leading to their growth.
