The oldest homo sapiens remains that have been found to date are about 300,000 years old, and it's believed that our ancestors diverged from the Neanderthals about half a million years ago.
There's debate in the scientific community about whether human evolution has come to an end because technology and social structures reduce evolutionary pressures to such an extent that even the least fit in terms of physical ability and intelligence survive long enough to reproduce. Even so, seven billion years is an unimaginably long time, and I think it would be very strange if the descendants of today's humans were indistinguishable from those alive now.
I believe the intelligence and adaptability of our species could allow us to survive for seven billion years. However, I suspect that other aspects of humankind might mean we self-destruct in some way long before then. Also, the universe is not a benign place. There are lots of enormous lumps of rock whizzing around out there, and some truly catastrophic event with a global impact might happen long before the sun dies, and new diseases will always evolve.
I see. Do you also that think overpopulation would become the number one threat to our survival? When the ice melts, the ocean would become about 200 feet deeper which would force people to flee and move ashore (not sure if i said that correctly lol) Then we’d probably consider having fewer kids which would make human evolution highly unlikely since reproduction are the most important factor in evolution. I’m probably making things more complicated lol
I haven't looked into it, but my gut feeling is that while overpopulation might cause enormous suffering and widespread death, it's probably unlikely to make the human species extinct. There will always be rich, powerful people who can monopolise and control whatever resources are available, and you can be damn sure they'll reproduce.
When will the human species go extinct?
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The oldest homo sapiens remains that have been found to date are about 300,000 years old, and it's believed that our ancestors diverged from the Neanderthals about half a million years ago.
There's debate in the scientific community about whether human evolution has come to an end because technology and social structures reduce evolutionary pressures to such an extent that even the least fit in terms of physical ability and intelligence survive long enough to reproduce. Even so, seven billion years is an unimaginably long time, and I think it would be very strange if the descendants of today's humans were indistinguishable from those alive now.
I believe the intelligence and adaptability of our species could allow us to survive for seven billion years. However, I suspect that other aspects of humankind might mean we self-destruct in some way long before then. Also, the universe is not a benign place. There are lots of enormous lumps of rock whizzing around out there, and some truly catastrophic event with a global impact might happen long before the sun dies, and new diseases will always evolve.
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Anonymous Post Author
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I see. Do you also that think overpopulation would become the number one threat to our survival? When the ice melts, the ocean would become about 200 feet deeper which would force people to flee and move ashore (not sure if i said that correctly lol) Then we’d probably consider having fewer kids which would make human evolution highly unlikely since reproduction are the most important factor in evolution. I’m probably making things more complicated lol
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Boojum
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I haven't looked into it, but my gut feeling is that while overpopulation might cause enormous suffering and widespread death, it's probably unlikely to make the human species extinct. There will always be rich, powerful people who can monopolise and control whatever resources are available, and you can be damn sure they'll reproduce.