• Question: why can we not go back to being monkeys

    Asked by auks1nona on 26 Apr 2024.
    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 26 Apr 2024:


      We might not be able to de-evolve but there’s nothing to stop you abandoning the trappings of our species and going to live like a monkey in a rain forest. But remember, you won’t have any medicine or technology, you’d have to look for food and eat it raw as you won’t have fire… and humans are good prey for larger predators!

    • Photo: Angela Douglas

      Angela Douglas answered on 30 Apr 2024:


      Great answer below. I’d echo that but you can choose to live a life with less modern things and try to live on what grows around you. Maybe studying them or watching them can me a good alternative?

    • Photo: Pete Webb

      Pete Webb answered on 4 Jul 2024:


      Going back is called backward evolution or devolution, but the latter term is also used for the transfer of power from a central government to regional governments. Devolution from Homo sapiens to monkeys is probably not possible because there would be no advantage to doing so. Monkeys would be unable to carry out the same tasks as humans, and would therefore probably not be tolerated in society. There are monkeys in the world, but they live their lives and we live ours. If humans started giving birth to monkeys, it is likely that the monkeys would not be tolerated. This hasn’t happened so far and I hope it never does.

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