New Human Species Identified

Not Fossil Remains, but Living Today

By: Steve Nelson - Mar 17, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

Conventional wisdom says that after millions of years of evolution, Homo sapiens is the sole surviving species of human. But in his book Fire in a Wire, Berkshires-based author Steven Reed Nelson disagrees.

Nelson observes that just as fire enabled the evolution of prehistoric humans, so is electricity enabling the evolution of modern humans. Electricity is the new fire. Fire in a wire. It is giving rise to an emerging new species of human, Homo electric.

The Electric Age dawned in the mid-19^th century with the invention of the telegraph. For the first time ever, humans could interact remotely in real time, without having to be face-to-face.

The evolution of hominins was characterized by the increasing size and complexity of their brains. Homo electrics are the first humans able to store, access and process information outside the brain.

We cannot live without electricity. We use it for everything from providing food to medical care to computing to sex. We are taking control of our own evolution. We can, and we must, if we are to survive.

Nelson will be presenting his views on electricity and evolution in a talk at Berkshire Community College on March 24 at 4 pm, which can also be seen online via Zoom. It is free and open to the public. For details on the location and the Zoom session, register here. A video of the event will be available on YouTube at a later date.