Human Evolution and the Response of Architecture
The Human being that Architecture designs for has never been a fixed energy, chemical, genetic entity. Human beings are evolving.
Architecture must respond to the evolution of Humans by designing for all their new abilities and needs within any environment they exist in.
The Current Human Genome
The number of organic compound base pairs in human DNA is something on the order of 3,000,000,000
Each organic compound base pair can be one of four combinations of nucleotide G, A, T, C in one of 3 letter combinations of nucleotides (e.g. ACT, CAG, TTT). called codons
There are 4 to the 3rd power 4 x 4 x 4 or 64 possible organic compound combinations
The organic compounds encode 22 standard amino acids.
The amino acids build proteins.
The proteins catalyze chemical reactions, repair and replicate DNA and are part of the cell signaling system.
Humans can synthesize some proteins internally but others need to be digested and synthesized.
This is the human link with the environment.
Each Human being is a chemical reaction linking to reagents to perpetuate itself.
The Human Evolution Potential and Achievement
3,000,000,000 to the fourth power organic compound base pairs allows for 8,1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 combinations of base pairs.
This is the total possible evolutionary potential of the Human species.
This chemical reaction started 10,000,000,000 years ago in the universe and 4,600,000,000 years ago on Earth.
Humans earliest ancestor, Homo Habilis, occurred 2,000,000 years ago.
Allowing a very rough age per generation of 30 years.
Allows for approx 70,000 generations.
Allowing 1 in every 100,000,000 letters in a base sequence to be altered in every generation
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110613012758.htm
Allows for 3,000,000,000 / 100,000,000 = 3 changes in the organic compound base sequence per generation.
This allows for 70,000 x 3 = 210,000 potential changes in the total hominid to human base pair sequence evolution to date.
This can be considered as only 0.0000000000000000000000002 % of the human genetic evolution potential.
Allowing the same rate of genetic evolution back beyond Homo Habilis a guess at the overall rate of genetic change can be arrived at.
Allowing for the age of Earth at 4,600,000,000 years old.
Allowing for a Human evolution generation rate of 70,000 generations in 2,000,000,000 years.
Allows for approx. 161,000 generations up until our own time in total from the beginning of the Earth.
This allows for 161,000 x 3 = 483,000 potential changes in the total Earth creation to human base pair sequence evolution to our own time.
This can be considered as only 0.0000000000000000000000005 % of the human genetic evolution potential.
Extrapolating this to the end of the lifetime of the Sun and so the end of the Earth allows for 1,048,110 approximately 1,000,000 potential changes in the total Earth creation to Sun end sequence evolution.
This is only 0.000000000000000000000001 % of the human genetic potential variation.
The Future Human Evolution
Our environment, the Sun and the Earth are nearly halfway through their lifespan of some 10,000,000,000 years. Humans despite their small genetic achievement are halfway through the time they have to evolve to a stronger, safer status in the Universe.
This is not an arrogant human desire.
Consider this. If humans are the only chemical reaction to achieve an understanding of their surroundings rather than just to react to it in the whole Universe then it should be considered that the whole Universe is there for humans to attain their maximum potential. We may be alone in the Universe at our level of development. Therefore our future must consider exo-planet colonization.
We must consider a larger destiny for our species than just waiting for the Earth to end.
The Necessary Steps
To accomplish the grand task of colonizing the Universe humans have to take the necessary steps to overcome the environment, develop their technology and themselves.
Both these have been thought possible up to our own age but our sciences have indicated a paradox that must be overcome to allow human development to continue.
To survive and reduce climate change humans must reduce their use of fossil fuel even if this threatens their survivability and evolution as a species.
The Environment Steps
There are historic examples of environment evolutionary changes altering life and so human evolution.
There have been 5 major mass extinctions on Earth.
There have been 5 major ice ages on Earth.
The energy, chemical evolution on Earth, life is clearly linked to environmental changes not only on Earth but also from the Universe outside it.
Humans have developed by a great deal of chance and by choice through the development of intelligence.
To control the environment was beyond our current human technology.
Humans then controlled the environment locally around them.
Humans have currently constructed and improved models of the whole climate of the Earth.
They have also agreed globally to reduce the use of fossil, carbon, fuels that cause climate warming to accelerate.
These are the first steps in controlling the environment of the whole planet.
This is the first change to the Architecture of Humanity.
The Technology Steps
There are historic examples of technological changes altering life and so human evolution.
The key 5 are Stone use, Fire, Shelter, Metal use, Energy Use. All other inventions evolve from these.
These 5 in turn can be seen to evolve out of an environmental changes and needs.
Stone
2,500,000 to 10,000 BC started and evolved to a materials knowledge after the Pliocene-Quaternary glaciation.
Fire
1,000,000 to 400,000 BC started and evolved to a control level after the Pliocene-Quaternary glaciation.
Shelter
380,000 BC started and evolved to an ongoing environmental response after the Pliocene-Quaternary glaciation
Metal Tools
8,000 BC to current era evolved through increased settlement combining the earlier knowledge of stone, fire and shelter
Energy and Transport
3200 BC to current era evolved through increased settlement and populations combining the earlier knowledge of stone, fire, shelter and metal tools to alter more materials.
Human technology is currently dependant on fuels that cause climate warming to accelerate. Humans are adapting their technology to a renewable, environment based energy system.
This type of energy is not sufficient to raise them beyond a sustenance level of existence.
Therefore a new energy source must be developed that is capable of going beyond our current energy potential. This is being built currently using a Lithium Fusion reaction energy source. This lifts the technological evolution of humanity by a factor of 5 from a carbon energy source.
This is the second change to the Architecture of Humanity
The Genetic Acceleration Step
There are historic examples of genetic changes altering life and so human evolution.
There are 9 historic genetic variations to the genus Homo.
We are the only human species survivor of that process left on Earth.
We are the last of our kind. One species out of 8,700,000 estimated species of energy, chemical reactions, life forms, on the planet Earth.
Humans have evolved through 12 internal genetic changes over 85,000,000 years.
Standing on two legs, increased brain size, sexual variation between male and female, increased visual sense, reduced digestion system, loss of body hair, temperature control, mouth changes and food intake variation, jaw and chin bone structure, and alterations to hearing and speech senses.
These were all forced environmental adaptations.
The last of the twelve steps is a human technological change. It is the completion of the Human Genome mapping in 2003 and the start of humans choosing whatever they want to be anywhere in the Universe without reference to environmental changes.
This will eventually allow humans to achieve their complete genetic potential.
This is a change to our current evolution by a factor of 81,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
This is the third change to the Architecture of Humanity
Conclusion
Humans have survived evolution.
Humans have conquered the environment.
Humans have conquered technological evolution.
Humans are conquering their potential.
Architecture was once the original functional art of observation then it absorbed the knowledge of writing, drawing, geometry, optics, mathematics, history, natural and moral philosophy, music, the sciences, the laws, defence, attack, environment, materials, hydrology, medicine and on into the developments of each of the sciences in our own time.
Architecture is still therefore intrinsically responding to the evolutionary changes of humans with solutions as a functional art that humans can use to be whatever they want to be anywhere in the Universe.
Ian K Whittaker
Website:
https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles
Email: iankwhittaker@gmail.com
03/12/2013
14/10/2020
1412 words over 4 pages