The Human Zoo

People at the Airport

Many people like to go to the zoo -- check out the giraffes and the aardvarks. I do too, both as an animal lover and an amateur naturalist. But no animal is more utterly fascinating than the human animal. And you can watch these creatures at the airport, the mall or anywhere. How interesting are we?

Well, we're one of the most recently evolved mammal species (the most recent depending on certain criteria) maybe 2-4 million years in age. We branch into four racial groups, at the very least, and probably more than that based on various morphological traits. We're sexually dimorphic -- males and females are quite a bit different in body fat, height, weight, voice, hair distribution and even behavior. Advanced humans add an overlay of clothing, grooming and accessories to complete the secondary sexual differences. It's interesting that up to the appearance of humans, mammal species had very crude family clans be they matriarchal or patriarchal. Only when humans emerged did sociobiology and technology really take off. There are no social insects writing symphonies or building space stations -- and certainly no chimps doing it. Humans have spoken language and a civilization that was born in ancient Summaria and has spread slowly across the globe, both Eastward and Westward in a few thousand years. Our languages and cultures add as much variety as anything mentioned thus far.

So what is the future of this naked ape? Will we resemble Vulcans or other creatures of sci-fi stories in centuries to come? Some unfortunates already look Vulcan, but you have a feeling that's not the wave of the future. No, evolution is probably through with the major physiology changes. If you trace primates from the lowly lemur, through monkeys and apes, up to humans, it's remarkable how little has changed in the basic physical concept. Opposing thumb. Dexterity. Intelligence. That last one is where evolution will work its future wonders. The soft tissue of the brain, that organ that has given us space stations and symphonies will be infinitely enhanced -- Natural Selection (if you prefer random theories) has already established the dominance of brains over brutality.

Now consider the finch, Darwin's bird of choice. If nature wants to change anything however minor in the bird's appearance it is a slow, labored process. Be it shape of beak or color of feather, the bird must have a permanent change to its DNA and have the advantage be "selected on" by other birds. A human need only go to Foley's and buy a new outfit. A woman changes her color of lipstick -- to the extent that she's changed her sexual desirability, she's effected a relevant mutation. No DNA changes required. If you combine brains, dexterity and artistic license, humans have an infinite arsenal of changes of the 5-minute variety. And so, I sit at the airport and watch the people go by. There goes a woman with facial tattoos and pink hair. I'd really like an explanation of that latest mutation. The human zoo is fascinating. :-)