RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT 



R. C. Andrews has looked into the distant future to visuahze the outcome 

 of the selection in a mechanized world. He envisions man as a mental giant 

 who will become physically completely dependent upon his machines. The 

 cranial capacity he expects to be enormously enlarged, while the face and 

 all of the rest of the body he expects to be reduced. He expects all hair to 

 be lost, and possibly all of the teeth. In short, Andrews envisions a future 

 man who could not live except in a push-button civilization. 



Hrdlicka has published a prediction from a much sounder point of view. 

 He begins with the principle that prediction is in general unsafe, and that 

 it becomes more so as the span of time covered by the prediction becomes 

 greater. Hence he limits his prediction of future trends of human evolution 

 to a maximum of 5000 years, and he bases his prediction upon trends 

 observable in human remains of the past 5000 years. These predictions 

 may be briefly summarized. He expects no increase in the size of the brain, 

 but he does expect an increase in the efficiency of its organization. The 

 sensory organs will become more efficient in response to selection in a 

 high-speed society. The form of the skull will be more nearly globular, a 

 trend which has been quite pronounced in the recent past, and which has 

 been interpreted as a refinement of the adaptation to erect posture. The 

 bones of the skull will generally become thinner because of the reduced 

 stress from the jaw muscles. The hair will be reduced in quantity and finer 

 in quality. The face he expects to become generally more refined and 

 beautiful ( by present standards ) because of reduced physical stress and 

 because of sexual selection. The forehead will be larger, and the eyes set 

 more deeply. The nose will be prominent and narrow. The mouth will be 

 smaller, but the chin will be more prominent. The teeth will be smaller 

 and less resistant to disease than they now are. The wisdom teeth will be 

 missing, and possibly others also. Unfortunately, he sees no signs of re- 

 duction of the beard. 



In stature, he expects the man of the future to be taller, but he antici- 

 pates no gigantism. The body will be slender. Breasts of the female will 

 be smaller on the average than they now are. The pelvis will show no sig- 

 nificant change. The legs will be longer, but the arms will be shorter. 

 Hands and feet will be narrower than at present, and the little toe will be 

 still further reduced. 



Internally, he anticipates continued reduction of the appendix and 

 shortening of the intestines. Physiologically, he expects a higher metabolic 

 rate, faster heart beat and respiratory rate, and higher body temperature. 

 Diseases which he expects to become more frequent include skin diseases; 

 mental disease; diabetes; dental disorders; diseases of age, such as cancer, 

 heart disease, and apoplexy; and disorders of the sense organs. But he 

 offers hope that these may be offset by advances of medical science. 



Boyd has predicted the future on the basis of population genetics. Be- 

 cause of current trends of population, he expects the world of the future 

 to be populated predominantly by descendants of the peoples of Asia, 

 Africa, and parts of Central and South America. Europe and North Amer- 

 ica will contribute very much less. Under pressure of increasing world 

 population, interracial marriages may become the rule, so that racial dif- 



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