10 Things That Might evolve in Humans After 1 million years

If you look back during the last Ice Age, you’ll notice that we’ve evolved quite significantly from our prehistoric ancestors. But what could happen during the next 1 million years?

Will our senses improve as we change? Perhaps we could even learn to control our emotions? Who knows what the future really holds, but one thing is for sure: we will evolve!

Here are ten changes you might expect to see:

1. A larger brain.

In the past 7 million years, our brains have almost tripled in size, so it’s almost likely this trend will continue in the future. The increase in brainpower will not only mean better abilities to solve complex tasks but also the ability to control more of our emotions.

Unfortunately, extra brainpower comes with a cost. You have to nourish that massive brain of yours! That’s why you might expect our bodies to become less efficient. For example, our guts, teeth, and jaws may become smaller. This would also explain why our wisdom teeth have become redundant over the years.

2. Gigantism

Did you know that the average height during the Ice Age was around 125cm or (4ft1)?

This pattern has persisted to the present day, with the average height standing at 1.73m (5ft 8in). So, it’s estimated that if this trend continues, we will be standing at around 2m (6ft6) in 1 million years! Can you imagine going to a basketball court with that kind of height?

However, due to sexual selection, it’s also possible to be shorter than this projected height because if women find men with smaller body sizes more attractive (and hence select them), then it becomes adaptive for men to shrink.

3. Live Longer

Living Past 100 may not seem unreasonable if you look at the average life expectancy during the Ice Age.

Yet another upward trend, as life expectancy has increased from the typical 25 years to 80 years over the last 3 million years. If this continues, we might have a shot at living even longer! Some people may be looking on in disgust at the prospect of ever living past 100. I get it, the world is dirty and overworked, but that’s what we deal with. We’ll all be centenarians together!

4. Half Cyborg?

The very distant future could be a completely different story. In a million years, we might have become fully-fledged cyborgs. We’re already heavily reliant on smartphones for even necessities, so what’s to stop us from becoming cyborgs?

However, as we become more reliant on technology to do things for us, our brains may shrink, and we may lose our emotions, leaving us essentially as brains in jars.

5. Thicker Or Darker Skin

With climate change and global warming becoming an increasing issue and having a substantial effect on our evolution, we may find ourselves in a different world in the future. A thicker skin or darker skin is advantageous because it will make us less sensitive to heat.

6. Webbed Fingers And Toes

This is another evolutionary adaptation that humans have developed in response to extreme weather. They will give you an increased surface area, which makes it easier for heat to be dissipated. Not to mention the earth’s surface may be flooded with water, which would make it even easier for us to get around.

7. No More Sleep!

This prediction may seem a little far-fetched, but why not? We can already live without sleep (at least for a few days). If we could find a way to recover energy through other methods, why would we ever need to sleep again? Imagine all the extra time we would have to do nothing!

8. Brain Implants

It’s also possible that humans will be able to control objects using their minds with the aid of some form of a brain implant. Maybe this will be something like a headset which you can move your fingers with, or perhaps it will be something more sophisticated, no one knows yet.

9. No more eating!

If we become cyborgs, why would we bother with yucky human food? Our organs will probably become redundant over time and be replaced with something more practical.

I’m just kidding, but food could be used for pleasure rather than necessity; after all, food is one of life’s greatest pleasures in life!

10. A Different Way of Life

Who knows, maybe we’ll build floating cities or cities on the seafloor. The options are nearly limitless.

Maybe we’ll be able to travel at the speed of light! Or perhaps we’ll start traveling around the universe, or even to other universes!

…maybe our brains will explode? Anything can happen!

Disclaimer - This article was originally posted on another platform. You may view it over at - https://medium.com/writers-blokke/10-things-that-might-evolve-in-humans-after-1-million-years-683f08d052b1

Thanks For Reading!