What moves us? It seems to me the key question I ask. Billion years created very complex biological creatures in air, land, in sea. This evolution has some laws and rules. Is this "ancient evolution" similar to today human civilization progress? Is there united aim or methods in two processes? If scientist create new perfect biological man or smartest robot or the mixture of both or, e.g. time machine, whatever, these results are what nature wanted in their evolution?
I am appreciate of any thoughts, articles
Hi Anatoly, first of all, this is a really big question, maybe with phylosophical implicances, but i will only answer from the merely bilogical point of view.
In this context, nature do not "want" something from evolution, indeed, biological evolution do not imply necesarily an increasing complexity road, in other words evolution is not linear nor progresive. It only relies in adaptation (and its consequent proliferation). For example, if confronted to a toxic methane athmosphere, simplest forms of life on earth will be better adapted than us...
Then, to look for similarities between "natural" (biological) evolution, and human progress will ned first to find common meassures. Biological evolution meassures the gene frequencies within a population (or groups of populations). Human progress has indeed modifying some gene frequencies in humans (both globally and locally) in ways that would be difficult to achieve prior to human progress. Nevertheless several other genes are still under "natural control", and moreover, not all of the "human-induced" gene frequency changes are beneficial, indeed some of them are deletereous.
I this sense, genetic evoution do not "stop" in 1800, it still woks (and is working "faster" i guess) for example in the genetic basis of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, the three principal causes of world human deaths.
For me, since humans are "natural-products" the derived consequences of the human activities are in certain way natural too. Nevertheless, since the lifespan of a species is usually estimated in millions of years, with aproximatelly 200.000 years of human presence in the planet, it is still not clear if our level of intelligence is adaptive.
So, math move us? it is still the same basic principles of all other living things: survive and reproduce... (and try to be happy in the process!).
Hope that this was usefull, or at least interesting for you ;) take care...
Dear Dr. Khripov,
Fascinating question ...I think natural evolution is about probabilities and possibilities, whereas civilization advancement is about possibilities and purposes. Interestingly, both end up with intelligence. Natural evolution resulted in human intelligence that is now trying to implement artefactual intelligence. The fifth social/technological/industrial revolution what we can experience currently is about the revolution of intelligence. However, I cannot see any united aims or methods in the two processes. For me, natural evolution does not evidence purpose, while civilization advancement is permeated with purposes. What is a point to ponder for me is that civilization advancement is already strongly interacting with and intervening into natural evolution. And this happens with an ever faster pace. The first industrial revolution, started at the end of 1700s, mechanized industrial creation by water and thermal processes. The second industrial revolution, at the beginning of 1900s, exploited fossil and electric energies in production and transportation processes. Time stamped by the beginning of 1950s, the third industrial revolution created and involved electronics in automation of industrialized processes. Culminating since the midst of 1980s, the fourth industrial revolution introduced proliferate information and computing in everyday creative and executive processes. The current fifth industrial revolution, the revolution of intelligence, experienced since the midst of 2010s, offers smart, cognizant and even intelligent artefactual systems for the society, not seeing absolutely clearly the end of the tunnel. In other words, it is not really known what it has to do with the probabilities. And. what is the next? Perhaps it is a natural evolution again?
Dear Ian Sajid Acuña-Rodríguez,
Could you provide the reference on the gen modification due to human civilization progress? Thank you for an advance
Anatoly Khripov
Dear Prof. Araujo,
Thank you for calling my attantion to your interesting paper. I will read and study it with a great interest. Kind regards,
Imre Horvath
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