Future Humans: Inside the Science of Our Continuing Evolution

What is the future of human evolution? Once considered the exclusive domain of science fiction, recent scientific advances now make it possible to combine knowledge of our past with recent trends to make meaningful predictions about our evolutionary future. Evolutionary biologist Scott Solomon draws on the explosion of discoveries in recent years to examine the future evolution of our species.

How is modernization—including longer lifespans, changing diets, global travel, and widespread use of medicine and contraceptives—affecting our ongoing evolution? Dr. Solomon makes surprising insights, on topics ranging from the rise of online dating and Cesarean sections to the spread of diseases such as Ebola and Zika, to suggest that we are entering a new phase in human evolutionary history—one that makes the future less predictable and more interesting than ever before.

The ultimate fate of our species may depend on whether we are successful at establishing permanent colonies on Mars or other planets. Yet, while helping increase our chances of long-term survival, becoming a multi-planetary species makes it more likely that a new species of human could evolve, better adapted to life outside of Earth.


Scott Solomon is an evolutionary biologist, science writer, and university professor. He earned a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and behavior from the University of Texas at Austin where his dissertation research examined the evolutionary basis of biological diversity in the Amazon Basin. He has worked as a visiting researcher with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and São Paulo, Brazil and has conducted fieldwork around the world, including much of Central and South America, Cocos Island (Costa Rica), and Fiji. He has authored more than two dozen scientific and popular articles on topics ranging from how fossils are used to study human ancestors to the evolution of agriculture in ants and slime molds. He is the author of Future Humans: Inside the Science of Our Continuing Evolution (Yale University Press, 2016). He currently teaches ecology, evolutionary biology, and scientific communication at Rice University where he is a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Teaching Excellence, a Faculty Fellow and Resident Associate at Baker College, and part of the Baker Institute’s Civic Scientist Outreach Program. He lives in Houston, Texas.











When: Mon., Jan. 30, 2017 at 6:00 pm
Where: The Explorers Club
46 E. 70th St.
212-628-8383
Price: $25
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What is the future of human evolution? Once considered the exclusive domain of science fiction, recent scientific advances now make it possible to combine knowledge of our past with recent trends to make meaningful predictions about our evolutionary future. Evolutionary biologist Scott Solomon draws on the explosion of discoveries in recent years to examine the future evolution of our species.

How is modernization—including longer lifespans, changing diets, global travel, and widespread use of medicine and contraceptives—affecting our ongoing evolution? Dr. Solomon makes surprising insights, on topics ranging from the rise of online dating and Cesarean sections to the spread of diseases such as Ebola and Zika, to suggest that we are entering a new phase in human evolutionary history—one that makes the future less predictable and more interesting than ever before.

The ultimate fate of our species may depend on whether we are successful at establishing permanent colonies on Mars or other planets. Yet, while helping increase our chances of long-term survival, becoming a multi-planetary species makes it more likely that a new species of human could evolve, better adapted to life outside of Earth.


Scott Solomon is an evolutionary biologist, science writer, and university professor. He earned a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and behavior from the University of Texas at Austin where his dissertation research examined the evolutionary basis of biological diversity in the Amazon Basin. He has worked as a visiting researcher with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and São Paulo, Brazil and has conducted fieldwork around the world, including much of Central and South America, Cocos Island (Costa Rica), and Fiji. He has authored more than two dozen scientific and popular articles on topics ranging from how fossils are used to study human ancestors to the evolution of agriculture in ants and slime molds. He is the author of Future Humans: Inside the Science of Our Continuing Evolution (Yale University Press, 2016). He currently teaches ecology, evolutionary biology, and scientific communication at Rice University where he is a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Teaching Excellence, a Faculty Fellow and Resident Associate at Baker College, and part of the Baker Institute’s Civic Scientist Outreach Program. He lives in Houston, Texas.

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