# Why does evolution "look" so directed?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-evolution-look-so-directed/671280>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 15, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-evolution-look-so-directed/671280 "2013-10-15T03:22:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-evolution-look-so-directed/671280/6 "2013-10-15T03:52:12Z")

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> [@Colibri](#):
>
> It only looks that way if you don’t look at the details. In our case, we are the only surviving member of our lineage. You don’t see all the side branches that became extinct.

Pretty much what I was going to say; human evolution looks somewhat directional due to hominid species largely being failures. If one looks at a more _successful_ family of species like felines or canines, you see an evolutionary bush, with many branches leading to many species; not a ladder leading to a single species at the top of it.

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