Are we as sophisticated as we think?

We, as the human species, consider ourselves to be at the apex of the evolutionary pyramid. We very well may be — this is so relative, there is no right or wrong. If the evolutionary curve runs from the simplest to the most complicated, human beings as a species is definitely not at the top. Perhaps somewhere in the middle. Evolution is a continuous process and the advent of modernity has brought about a lot of interference with this.Wih human control, a lot of things are in the negative. Let us consider the example of the backbone, which is supposed to be upright. We all used to be once be on four feet, and the sudden change has not been congruent with a change in the shape of the spinal cord. The appendix is another example of an organ we do not use anymore. 

While the changes are numerous, we have been in a state of retrogressive evolution, and a lot of them would not have happened if nature was allowed to take its course. Some of these changes are unknown to us, and completely outside of our control. For example Swedish and Dutch natives would be bigger in stature than Asians as climate has a huge role to play in the growth rate of an individual. If nature could have its way, all the various races would evolve into their own species — and we were in the process of diversifying from each other. But the result of cultural interference has been a strange hybridisation that spans across continents. Let’s consider another example. 

Every animal group has an alpha — the leader. Just before the advent of globalisation, the male is no longer the alpha. Dormant characteristics that did not come to the fore for females are now in full view for everyone. The economy of evolution suggests that these characteristics and attitudes get exposed. In the past, humans used to be hunters and gatherers based on their specific skillset. When I went abroad recently, my daughter asked me to get her lipstick, and all the shades of pink looked the same to me! It was clearly not within my skillset to pick the right shade for her. I am a firm believer of the idea that, when we don’t quite know what the consequences of our actions will be, we should not interfere. There are too many variables in this equation. 

We all started off as animals, until thinking, settling, cultivating, decorating and exploring took place. We deviated from the norm, and expected all the ecosystems around us to do the same. In which wilderness do wolves drink cows’ milk? Then what are we doing to our dogs? Today our ability to hunt (along with physical ability as a whole) has declined.We are too heavily dependent on gadgets to function. All we have to do is raise a finger and a machine will do the work for us. According to evolutionary practice, any organ can evolve to perform multiple functions, but with lower rates of physical activities, our muscles are starting to decline. In an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 years — about a third of our body will be all cranial capability. There will be no hairs on our body. Our physique responds to changes in the environment dynamically at different rates. But with the current interference, this is not the case. 

My father is a man who  still walks 20 km a day, does not need eyeglasses to see and can break mutton bones with his teeth. He is 86 years old. I can’t claim to to do any of these things. He was from a time when we were living more organically, without much human intervention. It is not just our evolutionary clocks that is moving too fast. The most shocking case from recent times documented the size of the tusks of African elephants declining by almost 30 per cent in 40 years. A process which should have taken 10 - 15 million years. It is probably because the elephants realised that the ones with the biggest tusks got shot and died first.  But so many things cannot be explained. In Borneo, the pygmy rhino weighs about 40-60 kg, the size of a big goat. And the stick insects are getting bigger in the same ecosystems. We have more questions than answers at this point. As a young boy growing up in the Western Ghats, I remember playing with ‘Ravana’ worms, which could regenerate when cut into parts. When I went back this time I could not find this species. We have all evolved from single-celled organisms but humans cannot regenerate. We’re far from as sophisticated as we think we are. We are not only interfering with our own evolution, but all the ecosystems around us. And as history shows, from the time of the dinos, the repercussions often fall on the species that is on top. It is important to keep this in mind.

The author is a a evolutionary geologist and visiting professor at the University of South Brittany, Vannes, France.