Hip Replacement

Hip is the sophistication of the wise primitive in a giant jungle - Norman Mailer

"Evolution is Changing...Yes, it is changing for good and obvious reasons. No, it is not changing, but it is occurring quite differently. How do we know?

We are living through epidemics of bionic part replacements of the human skeleton. The reason for that in large part must be because a lot of us are living A LOT longer than Mr. Darwin and Mother Nature ever contemplated. Living longer obviously involves making our bodies move our limbs many more times than when normal people lived only 30 or 40 years. That, of course, leads to parts wearing out.

But, whoever said evolution had to be confined to what Mother Nature could or would do by herself? Given another 1,000 or so years nature itself might make our bodies adapt to longer life. In the meanwhile we are entering a new era in which human evolution is being artificially assisted by science and medicine.

The next question is where that can and will take us. The answer is a long ways, both in life times and distances traveled.

A new technology is also now emerging called 3D Printing--in which all sorts of human body parts - including internal organs made out of real human tissues--are being recreated exactly to suit replacement needs.

The idea of infinite life is illustrated by a small wooden sail boat which was rebuilt over several years during which every stick of original wood was replaced and the boat ended up better than new because it was faster and just as pretty as before!

As we humans face new challenges, like exploring space for hundreds of years at a time, we surely will figure out how to accommodate those needs by "extending" or "continuing" human life as required. Imagine what it might be like if a Greek explorer from 231 BC were just now returning to earth. His Toga would surely look a bit strange on TV and his great, great, great, great grandchildren would not know him or what to call him. Could evolution help that problem too?

If we think about these questions as more of us become bionic, it should give us something to take our minds off the stresses and strains of adapting to the realization that what we are experiencing is simply part of the great human evolutionary experiment.

Yes, you guessed right. I just had a hip replaced. It was not too big a deal and it beats being gimpy with pain for more years. If you remotely think you need a new hip, go for it, it is worth it!!"

Source: Frank A Weil, Evolution is Changing, Huff Post, February 3, 2014.