Evolutionary Paradigm

I got this friend. basically he's the smartest kid I've ever met and knows everything about everything

The other day he started talking about the "evolutionary paradigm." He said the time period between each major scientific revolution has split in half. I forgot how exactly he broke it down in terms of numbers but basically its like this: First caveman evolved into man. It took man a certain amount of time to reach the agricultural revolution. It took half that time to reach the industrial revolution. it took half that time to reach the technological revolution. and it took half that time to reach the age of imformation(computers/internet). and it will take half that time to reach the next revolution and even less time to reach the one after that. So when we reach the point where the time periods between breakthroughs are too small to calculate we will evolve into a new species. a superior, neo-human. And this is said to occur within our generation or the next. But if the new revolution does not occur soon all hope will be lost and the paradigm will be broken.

I really dont know what to think about this. any comments? any additional info on this subject?

 

Perhaps this progression of revolutions is only part of a cycle; so that when we reach the point where the time periods between breakthroughs are too small to calculate, progress will stop.

 

hmmm. good point. but when we reach that point in time, if there is such a point, wouldnt a new, superior knowledge or understanding hit us at such an incredible speed that it would be almost impossible to stop it or turn back? Its more than just technoligical it would be mental/ psychological on a global scale. Everyone would be, I guess you could say enlightened, simaltaniously and instantaniously.

 

I don't see how technological progress can evolve our psyches. The way I see it, progress seems to be doing the exact opposite - decreasing our attention spans, turning us into unthinking consuming puppets, etc. Sounds like some sort of urban myth to me. I agree with mother nature's son.

 

In the movie "Waking Life" there is a discussion about the evolutionary paradigm. The guy says the new evolution will include analog (cloning of the organism) and digital (artificial intellegence) technology. Once the two are "knit" together a new super human will be born.

We ourselves wouldn't experience this understanding but we could still easily coencide with the new race as they would blend into the population.

These arent my theories and I dont fully believe them. Just wanted to let you know

 

I agree with that.Whe as humans (biolgicaly) have not changed in however many thousands of year ... diffrent ages of man i can understand ... but we as physical humans have not changed. Why would we 'evolve' quicker just because our 'invention' works quicker.

Unlikely ... about 3 diffrent film plots going on their . AI i think will be just computing power and applications ...not some hybrid , however 'cool' that would be.

 

that would be great. a new race that valued progress over power. I am also pessimistic about the new evolution. Like you I dont think it will happen. atleast not anytime soon.

 

I am not pessimistic ...just selfish. I will never see any of the future that this "evolutionary paradigm." predicts. If it is true..looking at it looks completly humacentric and even more selfish than possibly most people are today.

I think we have arleady been in a time when we as a race valued progress over power. that time is long gone mmmm maybe it was only for the few not all ... the more people that occupy the planet the less any form of 'utopia' can occur (imho).

Nothing is flawless or perfect. It only takes a small thing for everyything to unravel..so that paradigm may have been broken many times already.

The paradigm you mention would take a unselfish unreligous humankind ... but then that would conflict with people needing a 'faith' of some kind and a 'homeland' again we are too fundementaly selfish in our needs (one way or another)..so we are srewed basicaly.

I think you should be happy in the time that you occupy ... we only live for a set amount of years (The way i think it should remain) so realy a evolutionary paradigm would have to happen say every 20 years..were would this paradigm have to stop for it to not destroy its self??, and everybody to be erm happy i guess.

 

We do have decreased attention spans, but partly becasue we have an increasing ability to take on information. It's not technological progress we are really measuring here, that is just one result of our evolving consciousness. You carry around in your head more knowledge than the whole planet had accumulated a couple hundred years ago... cell theory, atomic theory, gravitation, black holes, combustion engines, phsycology, evolution, mathematics... and your probably no rocket scientist. Our ability to take on, retain and use knowledge folds upon itself generation after generation. This does effect our psyche because our conscious understanding of the universe is more complete.

Jezmund: Ever hear of Timewave Zero? Its a software program based on our approach to infinite novelty (newness). Many put the date at 2012. WHo knows...

 

What the hell, I don't know you!

Anyways, I don't think so. Because of all of our technological improvements, we've really lost the need for evolution. Where we used to adapt our bodies to change, we now adapt our surroundings to survive. When it ends is when something comes along that is too big... something along the lines of a great disease or natural disaster(sp) Realisticly, humans are very inferior species. Without our intelligence, we really can't do anything.

 

I agree we've accumulated an enormous amount of knowledge but I don't really agree that we're more evolved because of that. Like backtothelab said we have adapted the environment to suit us, and look what we've done to it. It might be great in the short term but could ultimately lead to our destruction as a race.

We humans lack the ability to look beyond the immediate future and plan for it. Some examples: meteor tracking programs. I've heard that some have closed down. The US is spending an unbelievable amount of money on missiles etc while millions (possibly billions) are starving in other countries. And there's the environment. My country's government (Australia) believe they shouldn't be part of the Kyoto protocol to cut down on greenhouse emissions.

 

^^I completely agree.

 

What is 'evolved'... 'inferior'... compared to what? What we have gained in knowledge we have lost in wisdom. Knowledge is power and power is dangerous and easily abused.


But who are we to judge? Life does as it will. Mass extinctions are a matter of historical record... maybe we will cause one. Who knows... does it matter? Life will go on. It always has. Life is always going in the right direction whether we recognize it or not. We are at a dangerous state of imbalance right now, but there is no other way to get where we are going.

I think being able to push ideas into words and shoot them out at the speed of light to a world of people who can pick up on the message is more 'evolved' and 'superior' to throwing shit at each other from the treetops.

 

Every technological revolution improves our ability to communicate with each other. The decreasing interval between revolutions is not surprising.

 

This is the basis for my AIM screen name and a name I use for a lot of other things besides the internet. (Neo-Human Evolver [obviously no - in the sn)


Ask your friend if he's seen the movie Waking Life.


Odds are he'll say yes. Trust me.

Anyways, I believe we've already begun doing that. Only, they're smaller revolutions because the fact that they're an all the time thing they've become SLIGHTLY mundain, and also concidering that now it's begun to be a more personal self-(r)evolution, an individual one. Hence the "Neo-Human", the new human that doesn't need an entire population of people to move on, but can do it himself. It's starting on a smaller scale as most things do, but eventually everyone will catch up. (It's obvious that it's starting on a small scale when you look at the television and see people at large, in their element)


***EDIT***

Ahahahahahahah, oh shit, I didn't even read the posts in here before I posted, word@mentioning Waking Life before I did. Fuckin sweet.

 

Wow that's to much for me!

 

Oh, and most of you people that are disagreeing are focusing on the wrong thing.


The idea is that evolution will move from a physical bodily process, to a mental process based on the individual.


Evolution isn't just a physical change of species.

 

well we have worked out about embyoligy and the islam profit mahamid new it thousands of years aqgo
then we got these stupid contraption called mobile phones that enable us to use freqencies we could use thousand of years ago without a device
and if weve evolved how com were still following the guidelines of some war lord who died thousands of years ago.
the reality is were to fucking stupid to use what weve discovered and use inferior things cause we can control them.
just like that silly bastard god who bred an army of men to conquer the world not because we were supiorer but cause he could control us
he even said you will conquer sivilisation greater than your selves
cause of bred so many of you stupid bastards and so on and so on
im so bored of this who wants to comunicate through mental telepithy these primative devices are driving me mad
what a waste of time and resorses

 

This is why I said it's starting on a smaller scale, and that it's evident when you look at the tv, because people are fucking morons on a large scale.

 

i dont have a tv but this site indicates to me that people are fucking morons on a large scale