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We Will Not Have Appendixes in the Future: Difference between revisions

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We Will Not Have Appendixes in the Future (view source)

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Incidentally, shouldn't the plural of appendix be appendices?
 
Do not confuse with [[We Will Not Use an Index In The Future]]. Also see [[We Will Have Perfect Health in Thethe Future]] and [[Evolutionary Levels]].
 
{{examples}}
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* [[Isaac Asimov]] seems to be fond of this trope, though his uses of it generally do not have the quality of [[You Fail Biology Forever]] as usual.
** He employed this trope in ''A Pebble in the Sky'' where Imperial officials realize the main character is a time traveler by the fact he has wisdom teeth and an unusually large appendix. Justified by the fact {{spoiler|Earth was covered in radiation after a nuclear war}}, which would increase mutation rates vastly. How much time passed between the "present" in ''A Pebble in the Sky'' (1950s) and the Empire is disputed in the Robots/Empire/Foundation fanbase.
** This is actually a plot point in Asimov's ''[[The End of Eternity (Literature)|The End of Eternity]]'', when two of the main characters, both time travelers, who were born three million years apart notice that the only difference between them is the lack of wisdom teeth and the lack of appendix in the one from the later time. They (perhaps hastily) draw the conclusion that [[Knights Templar|Eternity]] was trying to prevent human evolution.
** While it is not employed in Part 3 of ''The Gods Themselves'', the eugenics-conscious moon government ''wants'' to use genetic engineering to get rid of various organs they consider unnecessary, like molars (the artificial food of the Moon requires little chewing).
** The interesting thing about this trope in Asimov's works is that he is a biochemist; where, exactly, this trope pops up is purely a property of [[Science Marches On]].
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Parodied in ''[[Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist]]'': when Ben is due to have his wisdom teeth removed, Laura mentions she never had them, which her dentist attributed to her being "more evolved". They end up getting into an argument over the veracity of the statement.
* Also parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'', where a news report says that scientists predict people will evolve an additional finger in the future. Characters on the show, of course, have only three fingers and a thumb on each hand.
** In the episode "Lady Bouvier's Lover," Homer is worried that Abe marrying Marge's mother would make him and Marge brother and sister, and as a result turn the kids into "...horrible freaks with pink skin, no overbites, and five fingers on each hand!"
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