Why do us mammals, and most animals actually, have four limbs? Why not more or less? Octopi have 8 limbs, why can’t I?
In: Biology
This is going to sound simplistic and dismissive but it really is the answer. Humans are that way because they evolved that way through natural selection. That’s the answer to literally every question about why an animal is a certain way or acts a certain way. It’s because over countless generations that trait is beneficial to survival and so those with that trait are more likely to produce offspring.
In 10 million years (assuming we don’t totally kill the planet) will humans, or whatever new species we become, be different? It’s a near certainty the answer is yes. Maybe we will have evolved traits that allow us to better deal with rising temperatures or lower oxygen levels. We are not the end product of evolution, only a step along the way in a process that has been going on since amino acids combined in some little tidal pool billions of years ago.
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