The Future of Human Evolution?

[@artiomvv569]

All tomorrow's is one of the scariest post human speculative evolution stories ever written, but also one of the best

[@garfieldeslazzannya6364]

And a beautyful and tragic one

[@dontforgetyoursunscreen]

& amazing

[@garfieldeslazzannya6364]

@@dontforgetyoursunscreen Yeah, and the fan ones are cool too

[@formorian5]

I hope it eventually earns its own video, along with Man After Man to complete the Dougal Dixon trilogy.

[@garfieldeslazzannya6364]

@@formorian5 Fr

[@michaeldoerr5810]

I think that All Tomorrows is an optimistic post-human vision. Sure there were the Gravitals, but I think the author clarifies that the change occurred BILLIONS of years.

[@GiveNoContext]

I think 1 billion

[@aeneas1677]

another good example of an optimistic post human vision is Arthur C Clarkes 'the city and the stars'- which depicts humans inhabiting a completely peaceful but stagnant utopian technological city, and then finding their roots as explorers of nature in a really sweet and wholesome way- definitely ahead of it's time as it was written in the 50's

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

Yup. And the end message is one of hope. Not to mention at pretty much all points there was one descendant of humanity who endured.

[@hexagon2185]

Yeah, definitely. One of the lessons in all tomorrows is that no matter how twisted humans become, the inner humanity will always reemerge. In man after man the lesson from that is that humans are far better at fucking themselves up than any Qu ever could.

[@housewilma4904]

it begins with dystopian eldritch horror with the qu arriving and spending 40 million years torturing humanity for fun. but it ends as optimistic view of humanity of the traits that make us human beyond our flesh and that we can live on far far longer then our current bodies could ever do.

[@williek08472]

Been loving the more essay-styled videos on speculative evolution. It really helps get my imagination going as an amateur writer/worldbuilder.

[@Ta-m01]

Same

[@lynloom]

Yepp me too

[@Astro_Aladfar]

I agree.

[@tyddlup]

Yes! I feel the same way. I've loved writing and worldbuilding since I was a little kid.

[@internetphia]

What about the evolution of speculative evolution?

[@r4ven577]

The extinction part reminded me of a really cool and deep poem that I read in school. It's called "there will come soft rains" and is about how an automated society still functions after humans have been wiped out without even realizing we're gone.

[@chrisalex82]

Damn

[@angelmatesmolan]

One of my favorite examples of human evolution is the self-domestication syndrome that us humans have. In the brain there's a gland responsable of aggresive reactions and self-preservation. In band societies from the Paleolithic aggresive individuals were either exiled or even killed in order to preserve peace inside the group (band societies were very peaceful societies, even with other groups). As consequence, aggresive individuals didn't reproduce and, overtime, our gland is much smaller compared with prehistoric hominins. Also our brain size and memory capabilities are a bit reduced compared with some of our antecesors, as we face tasks that don't require high levels of memory.

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Humans are actually disproportionately violent to their own kind though. 😕

[@thefirstsin]

Huh got it

[@destyon9966]

I definitely got low memory capabilities 😭

[@psionicsknight6651]

That’s a really interesting concept. And I think it would be good to know regarding how different species/subspecies of humans may have gone extinct due to conflicts with early *Homo sapiens*. After all, while it is easy to just label people as either “intrinsically good/peaceful” or “intrinsically evil/violent” we also have to remember that humans, as a species, have indeed found other, more peaceful solutions and many people have tried to encourage others to be kinder to either outliner humans or even to non-human creatures. Point is: even if humans have a destructive, violent nature, we have been shown to overcome it. And in doing so, even changed our evolution.

[@asiblingproduction]

I would also like to note that it is believed that our first conceptions of gods seems to be linked to this self-domestication process as well. The idea of higher morality in the universe.

[@aeneas1677]

another good example of an optimistic post human vision I thought might be worth mentioning is Arthur C Clarkes 'the city and the stars'- which depicts humans inhabiting a completely peaceful but stagnant utopian technological city, and then finding their roots as explorers of nature in a really sweet and wholesome way- definitely ahead of it's time as it was written in the 50's

[@gloomyallo1830]

The Morlock and Eloi aren't the only example of the intellectual regression of mankind, and in a way, a form of the altered self. There was a portion in the book where the Time Traveler arrives in a distant future era where he lays eyes upon unrecognizable kangaroo-like creatures, and it's only after close analysis that he comes to the realization that these simple looking dimwitted creatures are descended from mankind. Something about the descendants of the most intelligent and environmentally powerful animal species the world has ever known evolving back into simple little animals, lacking sapience, and only concerned with the most basic animalistic needs, entirely unknowing of their origin.

[@localhearthian2387]

I heard that the Morlocks and Eloi were meant to be the working and ruling class respectively, as Wells was quite the socialist and was concerned with increasing class divides.

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Aren't the Morlocks supposed to be intelligent though? They just don't look it. Meanwhile the Eloi look intelligent, but are idiots ❌🧠.

[@revimfadli4666]

​@@localhearthian2387 I wonder what class the kangaroo represents

[@vadimrachamimov3061]

​@@revimfadli4666 Australian rugby fans

[@hayvenforpeace]

This is the future I want for humanity. The current path of technological advancement and resource exploitation will lead to a quick extinction for both us and other animals. The worst case scenario would mean a sterilized Earth, our once vibrant, living world reduced to a lifeless rock. “Downshifting” humanity would solve all of these problems, and “downshifted” humans could exist in balance with nature.

[@gendygoblin8391]

I would say the original Ghost in the Shell portrays an interesting yet kind of positive display of human evolution. Rather than the destruction of humanity at the hand of AI, it displays a union of the two that forms a new kind of human that is neither man nor machine. A peaceful resolution to a fear held by many. And while the concept of losing one’s self is discussed it is resolved in the long term acknowledgment that people change constantly over their lives. To quote undertale, “despite everything, it’s still you.”

[@UNSCPILOT]

The implication of the "Synthesis" ending of Mass Effect 3 feels similar in some ways, certainly taken quite differently by those who play it, of all the possible endings it seems the most peaceful yet rewarding, it's certainly a huge change for all in that universe to undergo, but a hopeful if uncertain one.

[@jacobkohr7243]

"If mutations worked like te X-men it would be impossible to go outside. As nature would be filled with mice with lazer eyes and fire breathing tigers" That's pokemon. You literally just described the evolutionary mechanics of pokemon. Pokemon is literally just what if everything else in nature evolved like the mutants in X-men except for humans and my mind is blown.

[@housewilma4904]

actually humans do have powers in pokemon its just 99 percent dont realise it or train them because they got used to pokemon do it for them. Humans are a pokemon in that world specifally a pyschic fighting type so humans can learn pyschic aura and fighting moves from other pokemon it takes alot of effort and training. but this is also why so many pyschic gym trainers are seemingly using telekensis themselves on there pokeballs.

[@sharksam8583]

Pokemon human hybrids are kind of imply to be a thing that at least used to happen. Since it's straight up says that humans used to marry pokemon. This is probably a in universe explanation as to . why some of the pokemon trainers you encounter. Seem to have literal psychic powers. And in the anime, some of the characters. Are somewhat superhuman? One of the more common examples of this is people being able to lift objects that humans. Really should not be able to Lift, no matter how buff they are Such as throwing a log like it's a javelin. Or Ash Ketchum, being able to survive. Being torched by his Charizard Even though, realistically, he should have been incinerated into his namesake. Or Jesse and James being able to survive electric shocks. That should most likely be able to kill you, or at the very least severely, debilitate. You

[@housewilma4904]

@@sharksam8583 yep i just dont think nintendo ever officlaizes it in the stories cause they know people will react like. "ew your saying its ok to marry animals" no there saying its ok to marry aliens. which is the best way to desciribe pokemon some of them are animal inteligence some of them are just as inteligent as people just look diffrent. the diffrence bewteen say pysduck and Gardevoir.

[@sharksam8583]

@@housewilma4904 I do agree that it is probably have a good chunk of people would react Now, again, there's plenty of Pokemon Rule 34. So I feel like it'd be a Roughly 50/50 between That's disgusting. And a hell, yes, kind of attitude. And I feel like, if such a thing actually happened in Canon. The whole human pokemon marriage thing would only apply to the ones with human level intelligence. You know, because they can actually. Consent to it. Instead of it just being full on beastiality.

[@housewilma4904]

@@sharksam8583 agreed it could be used for really cool stories as well like imagine a kingdom that delibratly encouraged human-pokemon marriages. simply so they could have more powerfull soilders to conquer there neighbours with some of these "pure hybrids" being discovered frozen in ice in modern pokemon. leaving some to help ash and the others to be expirmented on to make more by team crime. the special thing about such a game is the TRAINERS could also fight as they know pokemon moves as well.

[@shogun2215]

My favourite 'Human Evolution' worldbuilding exercise is Fallout: New Vegas. It has a distinct tonal dissonance between the goofy revenge plot of the main storyline, and the sheer horror that lies beneath. The story of the Sino-American war, the truly horrific war crimes committed, the immorality of nuclear bombs, a plethora of different radiation based creatures. Yes it's an almost lighthearted look at nuclear war on the surface, but dig deeper and it gets every bit as tragic and bleak as Chernobyl and Fukushima.

[@housewilma4904]

yeah that was always what fallout did best have a world that SEEMS 'wacky silly lighthearted" on the surface but is actually very serious and brutally realistic beneath the facade of fun. like the whole concept of the resource wars should TERRIFY because its REALISTIC if oil ran out that is exactly what would happen nearly step by step including the collapse of the EU and following SINO AMERICAN war which was itself followed by nuclear annhiliation. and to expalin all the wacky mutations they only had radation be a part of it the major part was FEV a mutagenic viral super soilder bioweapon thaty got nuked into the straosphere and spread around the planet speeding up mutation massivly.

[@dUFGoLZ]

16:34 "Casting off the weakness of the flesh for the purity of metal." *Adeptus Mechanicus has entered the chat*

[@epg-6]

It seems like a lot of fictional explorations of our future are either not very serious, or borderline misanthropic. I'd like to see a sci-fi story with a positive, or at least neutral take on our future evolution.

[@labonnelambda58]

There is a book by Greg Egan about the futur of Humanity, mostly positive I would said (or maybe neutral), and seems scientifically pretty realistic, called Diaspora. It is a SF book which needs strong scientific culture to read, so not for everyone. It goes really extremely far into the future. The weaker point of it, for the science part, is that characters are depicted with an intelligence still near human for the hole book.

[@swedneck]

Very much agreed, i've been reading the webnovel "12 miles below" which portrays what feels like a very very realistic (for the circumstances) evolution of *society*, and having something like that but with physical evolution as well would be so interesting. Presuming we largely continue on living like we do now the major thing i imagine we'll evolve is the ability to better make use of our abundant resources, becoming able to grow much faster at the cost of losing the ability to handle starvation as well. Look at how quickly adolescent men put on muscle for example, i suspect that will just become the norm among everyone no matter the age basically.

[@CAMSLAYER13]

The boring answer is a there aren't enough selective pressures on humans to push any real changes unless something drastic changes

[@salutic.7544]

@@swedneck mfs will literally envision humanity evolving into more “efficient” beings than an end of capitalism (the cause of overconsumption and resource scarcity in the first place).

[@jennifervan75]

​@@swedneck where can we read it?

[@coltonm.strawn1771]

One of my favorite books, Evolution by Stephen Baxter, dabbles in this. It’s a hard science fiction novel that follows the evolution of humanity (and life on Earth in general). It even includes a few fictional species of extinct animals that may have plausibly existed which we don’t know about since the fossil record is still incomplete. But the last 2 chapters in particular describe a disturbing but fascinating take on how humans might evolve in the distant future. One chapter takes place 30 million years from now after humans lose their sapience and regress back to mere animals after a super-volcano triggers a mass extinction and causes global civilization to collapse. Humanity splits into several new species such as a vaguely australopithecine species that builds treetop nests crudely resembling human buildings, a species of quadruped humanoid farmed for meat by huge predatory rats, and a species of tiny “mole men” that forms underground colonies and harvests the nuts of a new species of tree. The other chapter is set 500 million years from now on a new supercontinent as Earth and the Sun are dying. The only descendant of humanity left is an all-female species of ape-like creature with human facial features. They have a symbiotic relationship with a tree that does everything for them, from providing them food and shelter to healing their injuries and illnesses to exchanging genetic material so the post-humans can reproduce. In exchange, the tree sends chemical signals to the post-humans, compelling them to find and deliver resources that the tree needs to survive. The symbiotic relationship between tree and post-human is so intertwined that neither can live without the other. Oh, and another chapter references both The Time Machine and Planet of the Apes.

[@agcat92]

Yo, didn't expect a Signalis mention outside of horror-focus channels! Interesting thing to note is in the game each line of android is based of an original human (I think the Nation pick a person with useful skill, copy their brain pattern into a mechanical brain then mass produce them). Each model has "fetish items" that they're attached to, like guns for the tall police android or music for the model that was based of a ballet dancer. The officer in charge is also supossed to avoid exposing them to certain things or activities that could cause a resurfacing of their original human memory. The MC we're playing as is a copy of a copy, that could contributes to her unstable perception of reality!

[@the-letter_s]

easily my favourite game from the past few years

[@christiancline6531]

Nice video! I really liked how you didn't just talk about the spec bio element of posthumans but also delved into pop culture and sci fi in general, which has a lot of intersection and interesting comparisons to make!

[@robbie_the_mastermind2176]

I like the idea of Abhumans from Warhammer 40k, An Abhuman is a descendant of baseline Human settlers whose ancestors mutated and physically adapted to various extreme environmental conditions after being isolated for thousands of standard years on colony worlds across the galaxy. Some Abhumans may also be intentionally genetically engineered mutants created for a specific purpose.

[@housewilma4904]

the aquamorph abhumans are i think the only one CONFIRMED to have been direct genetic engineering for underwater contrusction projects the same reason the imperium didnt wipe them out in 40k times too usefull. the ratlings and Ogryn are the best examples of natural evolutionairy change one world putting high pressure on fertility with a abudance of natural resources giving rise to the short fast expert climbers with the best eyesight and a EXPLOSIVE breeding rate. wheres a ogryin were all the most agressive angry and tough humans sent to frozen high gravity resource poor worlds as prison planets in which envoirmental pressure pushed them to select for the biggest the strongest and best suvivors over deep thinkers ending up with supermassive super stronger survivialists who are as inteligent as a human child.

[@Masonicon]

Dwarf-like abhumans are only 41st-42nd millennium humanity that still know how to build Dyson Spheres

[@cleeiii357]

@@Masonicon The leagues/kin are probably the only major race/civilization in the setting capable of doing so in the setting. The others that are technologically advanced enough either are mostly in ruins, infighting among each other, rotting from the inside, too small in reach, or has a tiny dwindling population. The Orks ironically might be able to even with their inferior technology through the power of belief but would any Ork think of building one?

[@Masonicon]

@@cleeiii357 Orks can build Dyson Spheres to starlifts neutron stars for gaining Pulsar Rokkit's raw materials

[@purplehaze2358]

"What do you imagine when I say 'The future of human evolution'?" I couldn't help but think back to Eduardo Hevia's crab human when he asked that question.

[@leociresi4292]

We play God with American Bullies, they might rise up and revolt 😁

[@cjj-jl8lc]

just seeing the variation of your videos over time it's..... amazing.

[@chucheeness7817]

In my headcanon, Neil Breen is a super Breeing, an example of speculative human evolution. He's a descendant of the asteromorphs that time travelled into our time.

[@td335]

You are the best! Your voice is also really calming!

[@YagamiKou]

I really like the way u ended it I have always found it sad that we cannot even dream of a positive future as a ski instructor once told me "dont look at the trees, u go where u look" I understand the want to be realistic or edgy but I think alot are so negative they become unrealistic and if that is all we can believe will happen then I think it might become a self fulfilling prophecy

[@liliththesolarexalted2206]

I hope we go for a mix of Superhuman and Technological ascension in the far future. Best of both worlds.

[@ryanwellington7493]

People are too immature for that kind of power

[@DOSFS]

​​@@ryanwellington7493 Or we downplayed our potential and limited our children by our own passimistic. Maybe not, but I will give them a chance.

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

​@@ryanwellington7493 humans are too dumb to get it

[@emilianohermosilla3996]

I think that superhuman’s the most neutral/logical view of it, if I’m sincere. We need spirituality for our own sake, and I think the modern world is a representation of logic (and sometimes lack of it) over everything else, which basically meant that we usually lack mental and spiritual strength and guidance and look at where that got us. A hell of a lot of women and men are anxious, depressed, lacking values and self control and I do think we’ll pull out of this one, it’s just a question of mentality (and maybe other things hahahaha).

[@guizintheinsect5022]

Like a cyber+biopunk? That's too dangerous for us,but,come on,scorpion tails are cool

[@irishspartanstudios]

Another amazing installment! I swear, Curious Archive is incapable of making an uninteresting video. One I'd really like to see explored, on the topic of what was presented here, is All Tommarows.

[@Anky22]

I’m always blown away by how thought provoking your videos are, love ur content so much and I’m always glad to see each new video is something fresh and not just recycled from older videos. Good shit man keep it up! 🔥🔥

[@mementomori29231]

First time seeing this channel and I 100% agree. Excellent content.

[@CharlotteTheMango]

change is scary, and a huge part of the population see is that change is bad and everything needs to stay the same. but change is constant and we can’t stop it. we need to accept that change is part of the human experience, that we need to welcome it into our lives because there’s a good chance we’ll end up wiping out the only people who give us a way out of an extinction event, just because they had an off white skin color, or because they started living lives we didn’t expect.

[@incyray9709]

On the topic of post-humans (and also post NON-humans, of every flavour), the Orion's Arm Universe Project is a subject I'm quite surprised I haven't seen touched on this channel yet. It goes into not just how humans might change more directly, and also what an 'ascension' from human-like intelligence to something that is like a human is to a dog might mean for all life on earth (and even some alien life humans and post-humans might encounter). OA is also FULL of explorations into such things as post-animals and post-machines, such the idea of 'provolution' wherein a human or other intelligence alters an animal, non-sophont machine, or similar to uplift up to the state of having intelligence equivalent to that of a human... and how sometimes intelligence developes in bizzare, perpendicular and sprawling ways. There are a LOT of pages though (it is a fake encyclopedia!), so some notable topics to examine and read the pages for would include: post-humans, transapient(s), archailect()s, provolution/provolves (Calebs aka talking dogs, Sapient Hyenas, Bitenic Squid, and Ton-E-mites being notable examples), Animin, Clade(s), Modosophont(s), Vec(s), Splice(s), Rianth(s), and Neogen(s)

[@romeman10]

One of my favorite universes. Not enough about it in other online places.

[@housewilma4904]

@Eduard Medrea im thinking its cause it was a forum work like SCP instead of a prexisting book and SCP took years to reach mainstream and overthrow creepypasta in the social awarness spehere.

[@John_Weiss]

I love Orion's Arm.

[@Masonicon]

I like it's jargons mainly

[@Biopunk47]

orion's arm is my favorite universe

[@GiRR007]

I find it kinda odd how some of these completely forgoe the concept of aesthetic appeal in regards to how humans would change. Even now aesthetics are a big driving factor in what we look like. And if we could change our own genes that would for sure play a part in how we choose to change ourselves.

[@cat_supernova2242]

I hope that humans dont continue to mess up the planet. if we dont kill ourselves I think our future will be bright and full of advancements.

[@cartoonjohnstudios]

I remember when I saw Peace on Earth on Cartoon Network waaaay back in the day. I remember at first thinking it was just a harmless cartoon about cute animals at Christmas… then I saw everything afterwards. I vividly remember the scene with the last soldier sinking in the mud… and then it ends with the animals being all cute and happy again! Meanwhile I’m sitting at the tv like o_0 I don’t think they ever aired that short again. Glad I saw it but HOLY GOD, they aired it on CARTOON NETWORK!!! And this was before Adult Swim existed I think!

[@kanna-san.]

I saw it on a VHS tape.

[@14AMRURU]

​@@kanna-san.ITS YOU AGAIN

[@militarymist1199]

"so why did you put your brain in a robot body?" "From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the Blessed Machine. Your kind cling to your flesh, as though it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call the temple will wither, and you will beg my kind to save you. But I am already saved, for the Machine is immortal."

[@quentinmanson3287]

I feel like with all your experience you should illustrate/write your own world of evolutionary taboos from what we see in the everyday. I love how you touch on these artist but I would love to see what you come up with and how you define your own creatures 😮

[@marksmanmerc1]

A series where every species had superheroes would be great. The idea of rats shooting Lazers is hilarious.

[@timohara7717]

They would pr9babakt evolve suepr stranglt

[@avinashtyagi2]

So...WH40K with Skaven?

[@Mr.Yeast2]

Pokemon?

[@leociresi4292]

3:48 Where the Wild Things are

[@remypartlow2525]

A surprisingly optimistic look at post-human evolution is presented in Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves. I really enjoyed it.

[@matteste]

On the point of psychic humans, one show I know of that tackles this topic with disturbing implications is Shin Sekai Yori. The answers it presents are nothing short of haunting. As for the question for more positive examples, the first that comes to mind for me is Gundam 00, specifically the movie. In this show, an evolved form of humanity starts to emerge and is portrayed as the logical next step, especially once they have to face the alien ELS.

[@housewilma4904]

the collective unconscious theory reamins the biggest potential source of pysionics as in the idea beyond our current dimensions our thoughts or emotions collasce or are relected by something in 40k this is explained as the warp in reality there is no mathematical speculation on potential other dimensions. the issue is if that theory is correct ALL thoughts and ALL emotions would collascen and in theory by open to anyone who accessed it aka you could pull on the literall nightmares of all life or from there hopes and dreams.

[@qwertydavid8070]

My favorite psychic from any media ever has to be Tetsuo from Akira. Not just the movie, but the manga as well. The stuff Tetsuo does in the movie is impressive, but the manga is a whole other level. What I love about Tetsuo is that he's constantly in pain. It exemplifies how straining it would be to have to hold such an immense amount of power, a far cry to the completely calm and collected psychic stereotype that we're used to. Tetsuo is simply a vessel for a power much larger than him that he can't even fully control or comprehend.

[@doekiller4810]

Arthur C. Clarke took it the concept a step further in 2001. The Firstborn, builders of the monolith, had transferred their minds into machine bodies, but later discovered how to contain their consciousnesses in bodies of pure energy, able to transcend the universe of matter. The same happens to David Bowman at the end of the book/film. Stargate SG1 explored the same concept with the Ancients, a race that once had human form who discovered how to do the same.

[@008TheDen]

The most interesting take on the psychic posthuman, in my opinion, is From the New World. A Japanese novel about a future society where every human has incredible psychic powers, and how such dangerous powers are kept in check.

[@renacleerican7824]

It is already the case, it is called psychiatry.

[@housewilma4904]

@@renacleerican7824 it more like if when people had panick attacks they made people heads nearby explode

[@renacleerican7824]

@@housewilma4904 smh it does. I guess we still dont know anything about psychic abilities, neurosciences are very young.

[@housewilma4904]

@@renacleerican7824 incrediply so heck it was belived to be pure fantasy until the observed phemenon expeirment. where if you look at a random number generator and intensly think of a number it WILL stastically somehow appear more then any other number. proving there is some invisble interaction going on bewteen the mental and the physical though its likely quantum mechanic related.

[@_kaleido]

Im glad to see someone in the comments mention this! They created an anime series adapted from this book that's very well done as well. The plot twist at the end will stick with me for a long time

[@Arrowloan]

Something to explore would be how humans might evolve on other planets.

[@shpimpasta1975]

For that I would strongly recommend reading the "Dune" franchise by Frank Herbert. One of the main themes of this franchise, especially in books 3 to 6, is exactly this!

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

they won't. Because they'll be dead before they arrive.

[@AYAKXSHI]

@@shpimpasta1975 even warhammer could be good

[@burtan2000]

As a 90's kid (born '82) I watched peace on Earth and Good Will to Men as a child. Those scenes, and others like them, formed my idea of war and the apocalypse. That was 1980's and 90's. Wargames, The Terminator, The Day After, Waterworld, Threads, and dozens of others, sparked my curiosity about the war.

[@lemanrussraddle6636]

"From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me!"

[@ETBrenner]

Off on a tangent to these scenarios are ones where humanity brings such devastation on Earth that they (or more often just a small remnant of them) ditch the planet altogether. Some follow the escapees to their fate (which can then either be utopian or further disaster), some just leave it as the finale, the faint hope in an otherwise unmitigated tragedy. I most often think of A Canticle for Leibovitz, in which humanity survives one nuclear holocaust, gets thrown back to the Dark Ages, rediscovers technology, and eventually wipes themselves out in another nuclear holocaust ... with a remnant-escaping-by-spaceship ending. You do great work - I especially appreciate your low-key cerebral narration style, and your curation of topics and titles - I'm getting introduced to works I hadn't heard of or had a chance to track down myself.

[@StiekemeHenk]

🔥Ending this comment with a hot-take🔥 It's interesting to think about the fine line between human extinction and evolution. We used to be apes, and if our ape ancestors could see us now, they might be both surprised and scared of what we've turned into. But is this change a bad thing? As we keep evolving and changing ourselves through new inventions and discoveries, it gets harder to tell the difference between natural growth and changes we make ourselves. As we combine living things with machines, learn more about AI, and study other life forms, it becomes unclear what being human really means. Maybe we should be open to the idea that the future of humans could be something totally different that goes beyond what we know today. I personally would think that if any "life form" be it mechanical or biological, as long as it has the ability to evolve and improve, is a good thing. Even if it means human "extinction".

[@commandereclipse5373]

I definitely think technologically-directed evolution, whether cybernetic or genetically engineered, is most likely, but what comes out of it won't be a single distinct breed of posthumanity. Consider how varied everyone is today, whether by choice (fashion and hobbies) or by circumstance (wealth and ethnicity). Rather than any one collective future for all 6 billion+ humans, I think the most likely future involves humanity speciating into a variety of different posthuman successors. The best work that shows this IMO is the TTRPG Eclipse Phase. Cybernetics and brain uploading have made future humans diverge into a veritable kaleidoscope of different variants, subspecies and body plans, from lanky zero-g beanpoles to lumbering robot tanks to sun-diving space whales. All the while sharing the solar system with artificial intelligences, infomorph brain uploads, hive minds, uplifted animals, and everything in between. Honestly, you don't need aliens for a whacky diverse space opera future. Just some transhumanism and creativity.

[@user-mx4kk5mm1x]

Yes. David Brin has some great "uplifted" characters in his Earthclan books.

[@kayskreed]

I've been thinking the same. At some point technologically induced evolution will outpace natural evolution and by a large margin. When I think of human myths and fables and all the creatures that exist therein, there will undoubtedly be some people who will choose to take on such forms and forms even more bizarre to us, if given the choice. Current humans will therefore be the common ancestor to a myriad of new species.

[@John_Weiss]

The Orion's Arm Universe Project exhibits this. Also: We're up to 8+ billion humans now.

[@mysterioussoup3393]

Yes finally! This channel has me going crazy over every new video that they lost and this one is no different. Love your work man! Keep it coming! :)

[@mysterioussoup3393]

*post

[@thomaseasley2938]

Yet another banger by curious archives On that note, Curious, you will still be doing videos on Spec projects, right?

[@LeoDeo2013]

I'm worried about that to.

[@lionessoftor4139]

I think the video game Stray did a good job of this idea. Also Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is simply stunning.

[@themagicalspacepapa3109]

Showing peace on earth was a shocker cause i remember seeing it in cartoon network so thank you. And yesh the concept was so weird to me when i was a kid i didnt even knwo the setting was ww1 and i thought it was during ww2 And i really like the mechanicus reference you threw

[@Adamant1993]

Any human who has given up on our future being bright isn't thinking far enough. We have only been living our current modern lifestyle with minor alterations for maybe 10,000 in total. We're young, stupid, have much to learn. The way I see things, this Era of turmoil is just a necessary step for most, if not all self aware species, and other species in the Universe have long lived through the things we are currently dealing with.

[@psionicsknight6651]

Really interesting video, and it did give me some recommendations to check out in the future! Thanks for doing it! For the fact that evolution for humans tends to be pessimistic in Sci-Fi, I think a part of that has to deal with the fact that-from what I’ve seen-it’s human nature to assume that *homo sapiens* are somehow “special” not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. The idea can be summed up like this: if humans all died out, then things like art, compassion, empathy, civilization, and more would also die out as well, with nothing carrying on the “human spirit” so to speak. It’s just a very anthropocentric view that, sadly, I think is part of human nature-something we can certainly overcome but something that is also always present in us to some extent. Plus, since a lot of Sci-Fi showed grim versions of the future when some humans changed, it’s also likely that a lot of people just followed that line of thought. As I like to say, “It’s always easier to copy than it is to create.” If you do want to find some other forms of human evolution that are more positive, though, I would suggest looking into the Solarpunk genre-which, while not dealing with spec-evo directly, does have optimistic versions of the future that can have things like offshoots of humanity either being as good as humans or living in harmony with them-as well as the Orion’s Arm project, which features a lot of different posthuman creatures that nonetheless get along with one another. I suppose there’s also the Hungry Plague duology, which is a zombie apocalypse series with some aspects of speculative evolution-and has very hopeful undertones-but I’m not sure how well that would fit in comparison to the others.

[@playerunknown0877]

I didnt expect you to talk about Signalis, it was such a pleasant surprize as this is one of my favourite games ever. I love your videos so much and these essay-style videos feel very entertaining and leave a lot to think about (and also are a good source of recommended media).

[@seano4977]

Quite simply, another fantastic video. My favourite channel and I look forward to each new installment.

[@Eliserose95]

What I love about Ancestors (been playing it recently) is how it put into perspective how big time is. You play through millions of years and barely change whereas modern recorded history hasn't even reached out first 10 thousand.

[@WerewolfGrandpa]

Some of the best videos on KZbin, keep up the good work!

[@ЕгорИванов-ю3ж5р]

17:17 You do not lose your humanity using glasses or internet. Glasses are tool. One of the most intrinsic features of homo sapiens is ability to create and use tools. The internet is also some sort of very advanced tool. And tools are very easy to distinguish from augmentations which people can not leave without. And this creatures with necessary artificial organs definitely would be non-human in a cyberpunky way.

[@bladehunter2747]

I imagine that we just become taller things, or just go full mechanical

[@waffle6454]

The idea of a humanless future reminds me of the poem "There will come soft rains" by Sara Teasdale I read in middle school about the same thing. There was also a short story based on the poem with the same title by Ray Bradbury.

[@dovahkiin53839]

For all its cartoony aesthetic, Splatoon manages to feel genuinely uplifting despite being about a future where humanity is long dead. Yes, humanity is gone, mammalia as a whole having only scattered remnants- but life goes on. Life survives. And those survivors eventually pick up our mantle. Remember us. There's still music, and play, and cities, and joy. There's still dance and art and civilization and hope, even if we aren't around to see it.

[@Ro3d2AT]

I feel like I have to watch your stuff exclusively at night because this is just to much for me in the mornin.

[@FranBunnyFFXII]

I'm actually very surprised you didnt mention Elfen Lied when you got to the Super Humans part. It fits perfectly with the theme matter. The main character has strange but well defined psychokinetic powers in form of invisible hands that are controlled and perpetuated by the Pineal Gland. Lucy as the institute named her, believes that she is the next step in human evolution and can wipe out humanity's birthrate in 5 years. The big difference is Lucy's death at the end and the humans winning. It's a perfect entry for this section and is an amazing and emotionally powerful series. It reminds one of my favorite works of media ever.

[@happijak9240]

Even if Lucy died the humans don't win cause more diclonius were continuing to be born, also Lucy had touched a couple people with her vectors meaning that their next children will be diclonius as well

[@thomasrdiehl]

Might I point you toward the 2018 movie Titan about a human being augmented to live on a moon of Saturn, based on an old short comic with the same premise and title, that has been largely forgotten to the point the Wikipedia article on the movie lists a completely unrelated book as the inspiration of the movie. Though that book also related tothe topic. Then there is the German scifi book series Perry Rhodan which has a subset of humans (also present in some other species) that have been altered to survive on planets not habitable by baseline humans, called Umweltangepasste (literal translation: environment adapted).

[@borchmore9]

Love your work.

[@koriw1701]

This was a wonderful episode! I found it informative with a lot of really good tie-ins to expand my knowledge of science and technology. Thanks to you, I find many times many useful leads to books, movies and games that I can't wait to go find as soon as your videos end.

[@GallowglassVT]

People always tend to forget two important things when it comes to our future as a species. First is that unlike almost every other species on Earth, we have the free will to choose where we go next and second, regardless of what discredited dodgy grifters or outright misanthropes say, most anthropologists agree that the natural state for humanity is one of empathy and cooperation, provided we're given the opportunity to exercise and encourage those traits. in the words of CM Koseman, "Love today and seize all tomorrows."

[@timohara7717]

Psycopathy may be slightly more advantageous now, but empathy will rein supreme for our evolution stopping traits

[@GallowglassVT]

@@timohara7717 precisely.

[@John_Weiss]

@@timohara7717 Psycopathy … by which you likely mean Sociopathy … isn't advantageous, really. Everything we have today exists because of _cooperation._ Sociopathy is antithetical not just to empathy, but to cooperation. Sociopathy reduces the survival chances of the community as a whole. So the communities that survive will be the ones that get rid of the Sociopaths.

[@timohara7717]

@@John_Weiss well they take advantage of the cooperation stuff and ok now I think about it it requires using cooperative people to win

[@John_Weiss]

@@timohara7717 That they do. Rather like a parasite. 😠 But too many parasites will kill the host.

[@VandalAudi]

I mean as of now, post humanity, as in the inheritors of modern humans, is shaping to be a lot more digital than physical.

[@robrice7246]

2:41 That is something I know that doctors & health advocates are taking note of.

[@matthewkrause9816]

Hello Curious Archive, I believe this is the first time I've commented on your videos, I have thoroughly enjoyed your scientific approach to all these beautiful curiosities. I very much appreciated your Subnautica videos as that was a wonderful game to explore. I never thought about it until some of the themes of this video, would you be interested or have you considered making a video about the speculative biology for the Kaiju in the Pacific Rim franchise. They certainly had some biology talk in the movies and of course, it was a little fantastic but there was also a lot of lore behind some of the creatures as well. Normally I wouldn't have asked for monsters like this, but again this video got me thinking about Godzilla and all of those monsters as our fears from the nuclear age were personified in those movies, and that got me thinking about how wonderful and delightful some of the monsters were in Pacific Rim. Thank you for all you do, I have been a subscriber since you were less than 30K, congrats on all of your success you deserved it!

[@robrice7246]

3:23/3:24 Basically an actual human Hutt and the literal meaning of Han Solo's quote to Jabba.

[@mloxard]

Peace On Earth came out in 1939 I think that is so tragically ironic

[@aaredx]

I have been on a binge of your videos collecting existential games I can play in the future. I had completely forgotten about Ancestors, but now that you mention it, it would make an amazing game for you to archive (curiously)!

[@LouixIskander]

can’t wait to put this on before i go sleep tonight !

[@joshdoz9234]

Nice to see All Tomorrows getting some attention. ❤

[@mercury5003]

The author is pretty popular on this channel. He writes a lot about speculative evolution.

[@smell_yjelly]

I was just watching your evolutionary horror video so I'm happy to see this

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

All Tomorrow's referenced in the Curious Archieve? LET'S GO!!!

[@menzashino]

Im surprised that you don't have at least 1 million subscribers people need to sub now

[@Vexarax]

Once I was drunk and fell asleep in the bath. I kept half waking up to a KZbin audio version of All Tomorrows playing over my Bluetooth speaker and didn’t know what was happening 😅 it’s so good though I’ve listened lots of times now!

[@luigidisanpietro3720]

Curious Archive is such a great watch❤️ I wish it would tackle the wildlife of Fallout someday....

[@danielhavens8819]

a good example of a positive take on speculative human evolution is the Belisarius Saga! it's a combination historical fiction/sci fi, and part of the major moral conflict arises from the rejection of human evolution vs the acceptance of change and recognizing the humanity in our distant descendants. it's my favorite series ever I highly recommend it!!

[@Blue_Jasmin]

Great video. For someone interested in more "rise of superhuman" scenarios, the anime Shinsekai yori (From the New World) it's about a post-psych awake society and how they had to change to survive. It's a very delicate scenario that makes you undertand why they outright kill psykers in 40k.

[@housewilma4904]

except the emperor and the inquistion all the spacemarines chaplins and anyone for anyreson some imperial noble decudes "i want". the imperium is so annoying sometimes they do messed up stuff then give good reason then do messed up stuff for bad reasons even though they already a good reason.

[@lolagagginw812lol7]

Was not expecting SIGNALIS to appear on this video but I am glad that it did! :)

[@VillainousEater]

About the other hominins going extinct: one of the more popular scientific theories is that the Neanderthals went extinct because they kept breeding with humans instead of with each other.

[@mridlon1634]

The closest thing to an optimistic post-human story movie, TV, or video game I can think of is the video game “Stray”.

[@mymom1462]

You should look at Vesper (2022) as a possible positive/optimistic view of the future

[@fireslice042]

I WAS NOT EXPECTING SIGNALIS BEING INCLUDED BUT IM SO HAPPY IT GOT ACKNOWLEDGED

[@the-letter_s]

same here :)

[@shadilaycrusader]

Man you just made my day CA all tomorrow's is one of my favorite things man

[@holliegould3463]

a very fantastic read on the future of humanity is the Dune books. they take place over hundreds of thousands of years in a universe where humans are basically alone. frank herbert does an amazing job outlining just how inhuman humans could become when isolated on their own planets. my fave examples would be the guild navigators and bene gesserit sisterhood :>

[@Vlad-The-Lad]

Gota get my popcorn for this masterpiece

[@madwolf4815]

Always looking foward to your next video

[@madwolf4815]

Thank you, you don't have to give me anything I just love your content and am always looking forward to the next one I am curious however on what that something might be tha ks for all the hard work you put in to your videos I've watched most of them a few times not sure if my first message made it through so I'm sending a second one thanks again your hard work is appreciated, how would you like me to contact you?

[@SomewhatDapperExtraterrestrial]

Humans will inevitably evolve into crabs

[@DeepFriedChumChum]

I’m not sure why but this is the first comment under this video for me, good job

[@WisteriAvis]

"you're not a crustacean"

[@Ivan_1791]

Oh, glad to see this is getting popular again. I still remember when I composed an electronic piece for "The Gravitals".

[@Vlow52]

Next stage is a Paperclip.

[@floramew]

I've thought before that nuclear fallout/radiation sickness/etc bears a striking resemblance to old stories of curses, black magic, tainted ground, etc. And I'm surprised it hasn't been mined for fantasy in a big way.

[@casualsleepingdragon8501]

It'd be cool to see depiction of humans that have evolved to live in a nuclear wasteland

[@Thecyanballoon.]

Oh boy I really hope for a reviving of all tomorrows! Really just hearing someone say the words "all tomorrows" made my day. Imagine Mr. Kosemen gives use all tomorrows 2! (Oh also thanks for the existential dread, thats why im subscribed!)

[@John_Weiss]

Koseman has said that he's considering doing a rewrite. Mostly to flesh out the story a bit more and to clarify a few things, as well as to bring his experiences with doing Snaiad to the story.

[@Thecyanballoon.]

@@John_Weiss Yeah i heard that a few days ago! I'm hyped, but I also don't want Koseman to be rushed

[@John_Weiss]

@@Thecyanballoon. There's a couple of fan-videos that Koseman commented on saying that he'd like permission to incorporate some of the vid-creators ideas into the new revision of "All Tomorrows."

[@Thecyanballoon.]

​@@John_Weiss Yeah like the one with the satiracs (?) And the killer folks with their holographic communication thingy

[@Balder-gb4eq]

Evolution is based on environmental pressures and random minute changes being advantageous. you put humans in the dark. Their hearing and touch will be enhanced eyes become bigger or degrade completely. So it depends where we are and if things relatively stay the same

[@John_Weiss]

…but only if having regular eyes provides a reproductive/survival _disadvantage_ - i.e. it gets you killed. This is always the thing people forget about evolution: _individuals_ don't evolve. The _entire species_ is what evolves. The environmental pressures _kill off_ the individuals who don't fit the environment. But if your species has _Adaptability_ as one of its traits, then environmental pressures just make you change your behavior, and your species doesn't evolve because it doesn't _need to_ change biologically/physiologically.

[@mathieuleader8601]

a great example of fallout induced mutants is from the classic Dr. Who episode Genesis of the Daleks with victims of the Neutron War on the Skaro being the deformed Mutos.

[@Finn-xo3wu]

ur vids make my brain happy

[@genreonlinenet]

Another film of note is 2001: A Space Odyssey where monoliths left behind by a long moved on extraterrestrial civilization serve as heralds at times effecting those who come in contact with it such as the events of the Dawn of Man prologue to being guide posts pointing future astronauts on a metaphysical journey that is open to interpretation, but implies transcendence.

[@Corpse-Maker]

My Reaction to that Information: 19:23

[@Thevilwizard]

Bro I could listen to their voice all day

[@KO_ya_boi]

I imagine a bloody human skeleton standing in blood rain with a nuclear explosion in the back round

[@Trans_witch]

16:35 From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of steel. I aspired to the purity of the blessed machine. Your kind cling to your flesh as if it will not decay and fail you. One day the crude biomass you call a temple will wither and you will beg my kind to save you. But I am already saved. For the Machine is Immortal.