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A superhuman is an entity with intelligence or abilities exceeding normal human standards.

Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the distant future. Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the Human body through natural or artificial means Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct Cyberware is a relatively new and unknown field (a Proto-science, or more adequately a “proto-technology” Human evolution, or anthropogenesis, is the part of biological Evolution concerning the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct Species Occasionally, it could mean an otherwise "normal" human with unusual abilities, such as psychic abilities or exceptional proficiency at something, far beyond the norm. The word psychic (ˈsaɪkɨk from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul mental" refers to the claimed ability to perceive things hidden from the normal senses

Superhuman can also mean something that isn't human, but considered to be "superior" to humans in some ways. A robot that easily passed the Turing test, and could do some things humans can't, could be considered superhuman. The Turing test is a proposal for a test of a Machine 's ability to demonstrate intelligence A very intelligent or strong alien could be considered superhuman. Intelligence (also called intellect) is an Umbrella term used to describe a property of the Mind that encompasses many related abilities such as the capacities Physical strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert Force on physical objects using muscles. Extraterrestrial life is Life originating outside of the Earth.

The concept of the superhuman is quite popular in science fiction, where superhumans are often cyborgs, mutants or genetically engineered. A cyborg is a Cybernetic Organism ( ie, an organism that has both artificial and natural systems A mutant is an individual organism or new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of Mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct The greatest publicity of the concept is, of course, comic book superheroes, such as Superman. A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon The term is often used in discussions of comic book characters because the terms Superman and super hero are registered as trademarks. Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual Superhuman characters in various comics, role-playing games and other entertainment media have also been referred to as metahuman or posthuman. Comics (via Latin from the Greek "" kōmikos, of or pertaining to "comedy" from kōmos "revel" A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. Metahuman is a term to describe Superhumans in DC Comics ' Shared universe, the DC Universe. A posthuman or post-human is according to the Transhumanist intellectuals a hypothetical future being " whose basic capacities so radically

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Superhuman people

Speculation about human nature and the possibilities of both human enhancement and future human evolution have made superhumans a popular subject of science fiction. Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the Human body through natural or artificial means Human evolution, or anthropogenesis, is the part of biological Evolution concerning the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct Species

One type of superhuman described in science fiction stories, particularly during the Atomic Age, derives from the concept of mutation. The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb In biology mutations are changes to the Nucleotide sequence of the Genetic material of an organism In such tales, a human being would mutate into or give birth to a being that either has powers not yet exhibited by humans, or else motivations entirely different from those human beings, or both. In some stories, these beings are either unable to get along with "normal" humanity, or replace them entirely, causing the extinction of present-day humanity. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa.

Such superhumans are sometimes referred to as a "new species" (or "successor species") of humanity; in a number of fictional franchises, such as those of the Tomorrow People or the X-Men, these groups are even given the binomial nomenclature Homo superior, to distinguish them from Homo sapiens. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. The Tomorrow People is a children's science fiction television series, devised by Roger Price which first ran between 1973 and 1979 The X-Men is a team of fictional Superhero characters in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus The main problem with this concept is that it is dominated by a misunderstanding of the theory of evolution. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Mutation takes place, but it is only a summation of the interactions of genes with the environment for many generations which eventually leads to the development of a new species, and then further time has to occur before one species becomes extinct while another, not necessarily the mutated species, survives. Speciation is the Evolutionary process by which new biological Species arise In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. It is also possible (indeed, common) for two species from the same ancestry to survive at the same time, under separate environmental conditions, or occupying different niches. In Ecology, a niche (pronounced nich nēsh or nish A shorthand definition of niche is how an organism makes a living And it is only a value-judgement by humans which declares that the different characteristic of new species is "superior". But the notion of progress is inherently built into this genre of stories. The history of life on Earth seems to show a clear trend for example it seems obvious that there is a trend towards increasing complexity in living organisms

However, other stories turn this notion on its head, showing the disadvantages of a supposedly superior ability or quality; for example, in Briar Patch by Dean Ing, a group of ancient hominids were portrayed as a largely pacifistic, telepathic and highly empathic species who could not stand to inflict pain, even while hunting; they were eventually overwhelmed and exterminated by the less sensitive but more ruthless Homo sapiens. Dean Ing (born 1931 is an American author who usually writes in the Science fiction and Techno-thriller genres A hominid is any member of the biological family Hominidae (the "great apes" including the extinct and extant Humans Chimpanzees Telepathy ( Greek τηλε tele meaning "distant" and πάθεια patheia meaning "to be affected by" describes the purported transfer Empathy is the capacity to recognize or understand another's state of mind or Emotion.

Many other types of superhumans are also portrayed in science fiction. For example, the Dune series contains several varieties of superhumans, ranging from those produced by selective breeding to chemical enhancement or lifelong training in as yet uninvented mental and physical disciplines, and artificial lifeforms such as the Face Dancers. The Dune universe, or Duniverse, is the political, scientific, and social fictional setting of author Frank This article focuses on selective breeding in domesticated animals '''Nootropics''' popularly referred to as " smart drugs " " smart nutrients " " cognitive enhancers " and " brain enhancers Face Dancers are a type of human in Frank Herbert 's fictional ''Dune'' universe. The Dune prequels also describe nearly-immortal brain-in-a-jar cyborgs called Cymeks and advanced artificial intelligence. A prequel is a work that portrays events and/or aspects of a previously completed narrative but is set prior to the existing narrative Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. Evil daemonIn Philosophy, the brain in a vat is any of a variety of Thought experiments intended to draw out certain features of our ideas of knowledge reality truth A cymek is a type of Cyborg, or machine-human hybrid in Brian Herbert and Kevin J The CoDominium universe has superhumans produced by artificial and natural selection and by genetic engineering; for example, the alien Moties have been bred for thousands of generations to be far better than humans at their caste's specific job, such as Engineer or Mediator. The fictional CoDominium universe is a Future history (now alternate history) setting for the books in the CoDominium Series by Jerry Pournelle. Artificial selection is the intentional breeding for certain traits or combinations of traits over others and is synonymous with " Selective breeding " Natural selection is the process by which favorable Heritable traits become more common in successive Generations of a Population of Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, is a Science fiction Novel that was first published in 1974 Many other fictional aliens, such as Vulcans, Kzinti and Mork from Ork have greater than human abilities or powers, sometimes simply for the purpose of making them seem more advanced or more "alien", other times simply for dramatic reasons (particularly if they are the antagonists of the story). Vulcans are a Humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who hail from the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt The Kzinti (singular Kzin) are a Fictional, very warlike and bloodthirsty race of Cat-like aliens in Larry Niven 's Known Space series Mork & Mindy is an American Sci-fi -based Sitcom broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC.

Beings with supernatural abilities are also common in fantasy fiction, but are very rarely referred to as superhumans in that genre. The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting

Superhuman as a classification

In Marvel Comics the term superhuman is part of a "power classification system" and applies to aptitude (usually physical) far beyond the range attainable by normal human beings. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc An athlete is a normal human in extraordinary physical condition, such as a weight lifter or boxer. Peak human is applied to physical abilities that are nearly, but not quite, beyond the limits of the best of humans. Enhanced human refers to superhuman abilities some distance beyond the limits of humans, such as being able to lift a small car but not a tank, and is a term for "light" superhuman abilities. Then comes the level of the "superhuman. " Characters with a superhuman attribute are far beyond normal human abilities.

These categories are very rarely referenced in the actual stories themselves. Instead, they are usually reserved for descriptive articles such as the The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the Fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications

Ultimate Marvel

Super-Human is also the title of the first story arc of The Ultimates in the Ultimate Marvel universe. A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as Television, Comic books Comic strips The Ultimates are a fictional group of Superheroes that appear in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ultimate Marvel is an Imprint of Comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and updated versions of the company's most popular Superhero

Examples

See also

Philip Kindred Dick (December 16 – March 2) was an American Science fiction Novelist and Short story Writer. The Golden Man is a 1954 Science fiction short story by Philip K Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the Human body through natural or artificial means Human evolution, or anthropogenesis, is the part of biological Evolution concerning the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct Species Metahuman is a term to describe Superhumans in DC Comics ' Shared universe, the DC Universe. The idea of a mutant is a common trope in Comic books and Science fiction. Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation A parahuman or para-human is a Human - Animal hybrid. Scientists have done extensive research into the combination of Genes from A posthuman or post-human is according to the Transhumanist intellectuals a hypothetical future being " whose basic capacities so radically subHuman is the fifth album released by Recoil. Alan Wilder stated in a YouTube greeting that there would be a new album coming in spring or early A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Superhuman strength, also called super strength, super-strength or enhanced strength, is an ability commonly utilized in Fiction. Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon Supersoldier is a term often used to describe a Soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the Villain character type commonly found in Comic books, Action movies and Transhuman is a term that refers to an evolutionary transition from the Human to the Posthuman. The Übermensch ( German; English: Overman, Superman) is a Concept in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In generalDO NOT ADD INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT CONCERN COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS

Dictionary

superhuman

-adjective

  1. Describing that which is beyond what is possible for a human.
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