man on earth-how long
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Discussion

funbobby

Original Poster:

1,705 posts

287 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.

MK4 Slowride

10,028 posts

237 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
Long time.

How long does mankind have left it the next question.

I'd say mankind has about 10,000 years left but only if Nuclear Power makes a comeback.


Jasandjules

72,560 posts

258 months

Monday 16th February 2009
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funbobby said:
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.
First, how do you wish to define intelligent? Then how do you define man - Homo Sapian (sp) Homo Eructus?

Eric Mc

125,606 posts

294 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
Depends on your definition of "man". On the asumption you mean "Homo-Sapiens", that is usally given as around 100,000 years. If you include earlier species of man's ancestors, such as Australopithecus, then you are looking at 4 to 6 million years.

The further back in time you go, the less like "men" our ancestors become. The primate line from which we (and the chimps) evolved is probably over 10 miilion years old and the earliest primate ancestrors go back around 20 million years.

One of the problems is that the fossil evidence for man's past is extremely sketchy.

GTIR

24,741 posts

295 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
Depends on your definition of "man". On the asumption you mean "Homo-Sapiens", that is usally given as around 100,000 years. If you include earlier species of man's ancestors, such as Australopithecus, then you are looking at 4 to 6 million years.

The further back in time you go, the less like "men" our ancestors become. The primate line from which we (and the chimps) evolved is probably over 10 miilion years old and the earliest primate ancestrors go back around 20 million years.

One of the problems is that the fossil evidence for man's past is extremely sketchy.
"Homo" laugh


MrV

2,748 posts

257 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
funbobby said:
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.
Do you mean us or one of our ancestors ?

If you mean us roughly 200,000 years ago

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

227 months

Monday 16th February 2009
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Given some of the comments on PH of late, I'd say some areas of the country are still waiting.

Captain Cadillac

2,974 posts

216 months

Monday 16th February 2009
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funbobby said:
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.
Intelligent? That's a loaded question.

andygo

7,390 posts

284 months

Monday 16th February 2009
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We do seem to havce evolved (Chavs excepted) remarkably quickly compared to other life forms on Earth.




I blame alien intervention.

s2art

18,942 posts

282 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
MrV said:
funbobby said:
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.
Do you mean us or one of our ancestors ?

If you mean us roughly 200,000 years ago
Plenty of evidence that there has been more recent evolutionary changes. So 'us' may be only a few thousand years.

G'kar

3,728 posts

215 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
andygo said:
We do seem to have evolved (Chavs excepted) remarkably quickly compared to other life forms on Earth.




I blame alien intervention.
Rarely does a single post contradict itself so comprehensively.

hehe

Edited by G'kar on Monday 16th February 17:45

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

227 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
Captain Cadillac said:
funbobby said:
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.
Intelligent? That's a loaded question.
For a country that doesn't generally get irony, well done Sir hehe

MrV

2,748 posts

257 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
s2art said:
MrV said:
funbobby said:
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.
Do you mean us or one of our ancestors ?

If you mean us roughly 200,000 years ago
Plenty of evidence that there has been more recent evolutionary changes. So 'us' may be only a few thousand years.
I was going to start with about 6,000 years if you follow the bible smile

samdale

2,860 posts

213 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
MK4 Slowride said:
Long time.

How long does mankind have left it the next question.

I'd say mankind has about 10,000 years left but only if Nuclear Power makes a comeback.
think u'll find we want to scrap fission and make fusion work.
"old" nuclear power is NOT the best way forward...

s2art

18,942 posts

282 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
samdale said:
MK4 Slowride said:
Long time.

How long does mankind have left it the next question.

I'd say mankind has about 10,000 years left but only if Nuclear Power makes a comeback.
think u'll find we want to scrap fission and make fusion work.
"old" nuclear power is NOT the best way forward...
Nowt wrong with fission lad. If it was good enough for t'father etc....
Good enough until fusion becomes economically viable anyway.

mephistopheles

71 posts

218 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
GTIR said:
Eric Mc said:
Depends on your definition of "man". On the asumption you mean "Homo-Sapiens", that is usally given as around 100,000 years. If you include earlier species of man's ancestors, such as Australopithecus, then you are looking at 4 to 6 million years.

The further back in time you go, the less like "men" our ancestors become. The primate line from which we (and the chimps) evolved is probably over 10 miilion years old and the earliest primate ancestrors go back around 20 million years.

One of the problems is that the fossil evidence for man's past is extremely sketchy.
"Homo" laugh
heherofl

MK4 Slowride

10,028 posts

237 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
samdale said:
MK4 Slowride said:
Long time.

How long does mankind have left it the next question.

I'd say mankind has about 10,000 years left but only if Nuclear Power makes a comeback.
think u'll find we want to scrap fission and make fusion work.
"old" nuclear power is NOT the best way forward...
Well we need something as we've got nowt really at the moment. The near future we're going to be fooked so old school nuke is the way for now until we've something better.

Also "u'll" WTF is that some sort of log?

samdale

2,860 posts

213 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
s2art said:
samdale said:
MK4 Slowride said:
Long time.

How long does mankind have left it the next question.

I'd say mankind has about 10,000 years left but only if Nuclear Power makes a comeback.
think u'll find we want to scrap fission and make fusion work.
"old" nuclear power is NOT the best way forward...
Nowt wrong with fission lad. If it was good enough for t'father etc....
Good enough until fusion becomes economically viable anyway.
not sure how old "t'father" is or how aware of world news he was (being from yorkshire an' all) but he must have been alive for most of these

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Reports/Japan/Acciden...

note april 26 1986...

it works for now but as something for the future...

and looking at how frequent these incidents are, with the last one in 1999, we're due something... [/disastermongering]

p.s. is der a place were da spellin police go n biatch aboot ppls typin slowride??

Jimbeaux

33,791 posts

260 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
s2art said:
MrV said:
funbobby said:
so how long has intelligent man been on earth? seems to be quite varied opinions when i searched on yahoo.
Do you mean us or one of our ancestors ?

If you mean us roughly 200,000 years ago
Plenty of evidence that there has been more recent evolutionary changes. So 'us' may be only a few thousand years.
Interesting suggestion. What differences do you allude to from only a few thousand years ago?

Streetrod

6,483 posts

235 months

Monday 16th February 2009
quotequote all
Well guys dont get into planning too much, check out these dates:

21st-23rd Dec 2012 frown