How would we look differently (evolution for 2025 tasks)

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Hi there,

spin-off from the bi-pedal robotics thread here:

there is (at least some) agreement that it does not make sense “copying” the human body (HB) in robotics, as the HB did evolve over 1000s of generation and so prepares us for all kinds of activities, from 200.000 to 1.000 years in our past, 95% of which seem to be obsolete in today’s lifestyle.

so here my Q: In a hypothetical scenario of “freezing out western 2025 lifestyle” for 1000s of generations, how would the human body evolve over time to work better for our today’s taskset?

  • eyes optimized for reading distance (30-70cm)?
  • weaker/shorter legs (very little actual walking)
  • bigger head / larger brain?

any thoughts?

2

More thumbs so you can text faster.

3

Direct brain computer interface. (So you don’t need to use thumbs to text. :wink: )

Much greater resistance to obesity in the presence of overeating.

The actual ability to multi-task. Not just the mistaken illusionary ability to multi-task.

4

The issue is evolution rewards people who have the most children that survive into adulthood and successfully reproduce themselves. Evolution doesn’t care about our well being or whether we are a good match for our environment.

If people who drop dead of heart disease at age 51 have more children who successfully reach adulthood vs people who live to 120 having fewer kids who reach adulthood, then the people who die at age 51 from heart attacks will become the new normal.

But if you are doing a hypothetical of how evolution could make us more able to thrive in our current environment I would say things like:

  • The ability to function with less sleep (so we can get more done, and don’t need to worry about night predators. Supposedly one of the reasons we sleep is to avoid nocturnal predators)
  • The ability to eat a shitty diet and lead a poor lifestyle w/o developing diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc. We evolved traits like insulin resistance, obesity, etc to survive times of food shortages. So we’d evolve to thrive in an environment full of abundant food.
  • Larger brains to function in a highly complex technological world. A reduced need for tribalism or loyalty to our local tribe. With abundant food, we don’t need to divert calories away from the brain and direct it to the body. We could evolve brains that require 2000 calories a day but are far more competent, instead of the brains we have now that only need 500 calories a day.
  • Faster forms of learning and communication. The conscious brain can only interpret a small amount of information, which is a massive disadvantage in the modern world where information is endless.
5

Second set of eyes in the top of the head so you can walk and stare at your phone without running into things.