7 Ways Humans Might Evolve In The Future

2. Rise Of The Nerds

Speaking of brain power... We generally tend to think of evolution as a sort of biological arms race, altering the body over millions of years, but as a highly sociable "thinking" species, the future of the human race might not be all rippling muscles after all. The most powerful pressure on sexual selection is the judgement call made by each partner as to how good the other is going to be at raising strong, healthy kids.

Back in the old days, this usually meant the biggest muscles or most voluptuous hips, but in our modern society, the ability to bring in the big bucks is a powerful factor in mate selection, and this is usually a triumph of brains, not brawn. The more our technology advances, the greater the effect of intellect on economic and social success. This makes them more attractive choices and, in fact, studies have shown that women are much more likely to go for less-dominant (i.e. non-macho nerdy types) during a recession.

This shows that the economy is now an influencing factor in our mating choices, and the people that can think their way through it will come out on top.