When I created this site, it was mainly to make me think. Having to write a little bit of philosophy every week keeps my brain from going school-crazy! But this week I want to try something new...I want to ask a question. This week is Spring Break, so I'll be away from my computer almost all week. When I get back, I hope there are some thoughtful, interesting posts to respond to in the forum.

I was thinking about something interesting the other day. Imagine, many many years from now, humans start traveling to other planets. Planets that are so far away from each other it makes communication with Earth (and with each other) difficult and unreliable.

Some of the brave human colonists move to a planet that is far away from any stars. It is extremely cold there all the time, and after many, many years the people begin to evolve. Their hair becomes longer, all over their bodies, and they all develop layers of blubber.

On another planet, it is exremely hot. There are two stars nearby, resulting in only 2 hours of darkness per day. The brave colonists on this planet also begin to evolve after many years. They lose the ability to grow hair anywhere, and they sweat so much that they begin to develop a mucous-like layer over their bodies to keep them cool all the time.

Now imagine, after many years without contact, a few people from Earth travel to the cold planet. What will they think when they see their human friends? Will they even recognize them? The humans evolving on the ice planet might look more like walking polar bears than humans. The same is true for the hot planet...the humans there may look like sweaty, hairless, dark-skinned amphibians!

Would you consider the people on these two planets as humans, or as new species of life forms? What defines being a human being? I'm not going to tell you what I think this week, because I don't know, and I want a lot of feedback in the forum. I know it's a huge question, but please take some time and then tell me what you think.