Tuesday, October 2, 2012

THE FUTURE OF MAN


THE FUTURE OF MAN
Published: the Scientific American, scientificamerican.com
Level of Difficulty:*****
1.      a) Two views concerning future humans are stated in the text. Which one can be definitely disproved?
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b) What erroneous conclusion have scientists drawn from the above? _______________________________________________________________________
c) Why exactly is the above conclusion erroneous? _______________________________________________________________________
2.      The text mentions various species of early humans; it also mentions one important condition for evolution. What is it?
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3.      At the beginning of paragraph 8, the writer says:” that turns out not to be the case”. What is the case?
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4.      In paragraph 10, the writer says the following: “Harpending and Hawks estimated that over the past 10.000 years humans have evolved as much as a hundred times faster than at any other time since the split of the earliest hominid from the ancestors of modern chimpanzees.” State clearly what this evolution was due to: _______________________________________________________________________
b) Provide three examples from the text to support the writer’s contention.
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5.      The subtitle above paragraph 11 is “Unnatural Selection”. What example of unnatural selection can you find in the text?
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6.      Read carefully from the beginning of paragraph 13 to the end of paragraph 16.
a) What does inadaptive evolution mean?
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b) Does David Comings agree with the idea of inadaptive evolution?
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c) Does the above mean that humans are destined to develop a host of antisocial and/ or maladaptive traits? Why?
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7.      A three step process to direct the evolution of humans is mentioned in paragraph 17 and 18. What are these three steps?
a) __________________________________________________________________
b) __________________________________________________________________
c) __________________________________________________________________
8.      Would pleitropy be an obstacle to studies to control human aging? Why or why not?
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9.      In paragraph 20, the writer says “One day we will have it in our power to bring a new human species into the world”. How does he reach this conclusion?
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10.  In paragraph 21, George Dyson says “Darwinian evolution may be a victim of its own success”. How does he reach this conclusion? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
11.  The text says “Unlike aging, extinction does not appear to be genetically programmed into any species”. This view is offered as support for the following fact:
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12.  Read Bostrom’s predictions carefully and make sure you understand them. Then answer the following questions:
a) What does “that” in the phrase “that would render us obsolete” refer to?
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b) What term does the writer use to refer to Bostrom’s views?
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