Humanoid

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Humanoid (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with
Hominoid
.
dwarves of Germanic mythology
are an example of humanoid beings.

A humanoid (/ˈhjuːmənɔɪd/; from English human and -oid "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of the human skeleton.[1]

Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it is now considered rare.

human-animal chimeras (where some cells are human and some cells are animal in origin).[2] Science fiction media frequently present sentient extraterrestrial lifeforms as humanoid as a byproduct of convergent evolution
.

In theoretical convergent evolution

See also:
dinosaur intelligence

Although there are no known humanoid species outside the genus

dolphins, at some point.[5]

A model of the hypothetical Dinosauroid, Dinosaur Museum, Dorchester, UK

In 1982,

Troodontids had semi-manipulative fingers, able to grasp and hold objects to a certain degree, and binocular vision.[7]

Russell proposed that this "

bird song.[7][8]

Russell's thought experiment has been met with criticism from other paleontologists since the 1980s, many of whom point out that his Dinosauroid is overly anthropomorphic.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., consider it "suspiciously human" (Paul, 1988) and Darren Naish has argued that a large-brained, highly intelligent troodontid would retain a more standard theropod body plan, with a horizontal posture and long tail, and would probably manipulate objects with the snout and feet in the manner of a bird, rather than with human-like "hands".[8]

In robotics

Honda's ASIMO is an example of a humanoid robot.
Main article: Humanoid robot

A humanoid robot is a robot that is based on the general structure of a human, such as a robot that walks on two legs and has an upper torso, or a robot that has two arms, two legs and a head. A humanoid robot does not necessarily look convincingly like a real person, for example, the ASIMO humanoid robot has a helmet instead of a face.

An android (male) or gynoid (female) is a humanoid robot designed to look as much like a real person as possible, although these words are frequently perceived to be synonymous with a humanoid.

While there are many humanoid robots in fictional stories, some real humanoid robots have been developed since the 1990s, and some real human-looking android robots have been developed since 2002.

Similarly to robots, virtual avatars may also be called humanoid when resembling humans.

In mythology

Main article: Mythic humanoids

hybrids (especially the gods of Ancient Egyptian religion
). A fragment by the Greek poet Xenophanes describes this tendency,

...Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and narrow-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair.[9]

In

Necks
), etc.

In science fiction

Further information: Extraterrestrials in fiction and Biology in fiction

With regard to extraterrestrials in fiction, the term humanoid is most commonly used to refer to alien beings with a body plan that is generally like that of a human, including upright stance and bipedalism, as well as intelligence.

In much of science fiction, humanoid aliens are abundant.[10] One explanation is that authors use the only example of intelligent life that they know, humans. In live-action television and films, using humanoid aliens makes it easier to cast human actors to portray alien characters. A study by the zoologist Sam Levin suggests that aliens might indeed resemble humans, given that they are presumably subject to natural selection. Levin argues that this can be expected to produce a hierarchy of cooperating systems that make up any organism.[11] Luis Villazon points out that animals that move necessarily have a front and a back; as with animals on Earth, sense organs tend to gather at the front as they encounter stimuli there, forming a head. Legs reduce friction, and with legs, bilateral symmetry makes coordination easier. Sentient organisms will, Villazon argues, likely use tools, in which case they need hands and at least two other limbs to stand on. In short, a generally humanoid shape is likely, though octopus- or starfish-like bodies are also possible.[12] An opposing view is given by Mike Wall, who argues that intelligent extraterrestrials able to contact Humans would most likely have reached a phase allowing them to develop themselves into machines.[13]

Several in-universe explanations have been offered for the abundance of humanoids. One of the more common is that the humanoids in the story have evolved on an Earth-like planet or natural satellite, totally independently from Humans on Earth. However, some works have offered alternative explanations:

In

Wraith is that the Wraith evolved from a parasite which incorporated human DNA into its own genome after feeding on humans, giving the Wraith their present form.[15]

In ufology

In the field of

Martians
.

In fantasy

Main article:
Race (fantasy)

In fantasy settings the term humanoid is used to refer to a human-like fantastical creature, such as a

Creature From the Black Lagoon, made in 1954 by Jack Arnold
.

See also
Lists

References

  1. ^ a b "humanoid, n. and adj.". OED Online. Oxford University Press.
  2. PMID 16680130
    .
  3. ISBN 978-4-15-050211-9
    .
  4. ^ Gould, S.J. (1989). Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. W.W. Norton & Company.
  5. OCLC 156902715
    .
  6. ^ Cosmos: Smartosarus Archived 2009-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b Russell, D. A.; Séguin, R. (1982). "Reconstruction of the small Cretaceous theropod Stenonychosaurus inequalis and a hypothetical dinosauroid". Syllogeus. 37: 1–43.
  8. ^ a b Naish, D. (2006). Dinosauroids Revisited Darren Naish: Tetrapod Zoology, April 23, 2011.
  9. ^ Diels, B16,Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 1903, pp.38–58 (Xenophanes fr. B16, Diels-Kranz, Kirk/Raven no. 171 [= Clem. Alex. Strom. Vii.4]
  10. ^ Munkittrick, Kyle (12 July 2011). "The Only Sci-Fi Explanation of Hominid Aliens that Makes Scientific Sense". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  11. ^ Griffin, Andrew (1 November 2017). "What would aliens look like? More similar to us than people realise, scientists suggest". The Independent. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  12. ^ Villazon, Luis (16 December 2017). "What are the odds that aliens are humanoid?". Science Focus (BBC Focus Magazine Online). Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. ^ Wall, Mike (14 November 2016). "Electronic E.T.: Intelligent Aliens Are Likely Machines". Space.com. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. ^ "The Chase". Star Trek: The Next Generation. Season 6. Episode 20. April 26, 1993.
  15. The Gift". Stargate Atlantis
    .
  16. ISBN 9780679429753
    .
  17. S2CID 143047194
    .

External links
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