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DuSTman 
70% water in a flexible container.
Group: Members
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Joined: May 2000
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,03:48 |
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I was thinking a bit about evolution recently and it struck me that although natural selection may not really be in play that much within the human populace (ie no real correlation between physical strength and whether someone will survive long enough to have children) there may be other mechanisms at play to drive evolution within the human species.
The mechanism that particularly strikes me as possibly-still-acting-on-humans is one of breeding trends. An example of this is these threads on here discussing required characteristics of girl/boyfriends.
A lot of people on this board but "geek" as a requirement for a potential mate, and I'm sure this behaviour isn't confined to this forum; People tend to preferentially select other people that share similar traits to themselves to mate with.
When a child is sired and raised by two people with similar traits, I suspect it's probable that the child will also have that trait. Likely stronger than either of the parents had it, in fact.
This sort of mechanism would surely serve to enforce and increase the differences between different "types" of folk, over multiple generations. I think that over a sufficiently long timescale this may increase the differences between different "types" of folk to the point where it becomes feasible to consider them different species from one another.
I dunno, maybe i'm just talking out of my ass. What do you think?
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Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz
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| Post Number: 2
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Non
Angelheaded Hipster
Group: Members
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Joined: May 2001
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,04:00 |
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My guess is you are talking out your ass, however I agree with:| Quote | | People tend to preferentially select other people that share similar traits to themselves to mate with. |
They must be Desperate, and have low standards.
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I don't play well with others.
-=Non=-
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Uberkommando
My cup is half empty.
Group: Members
Posts: 337
Joined: Jan. 2002
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,04:58 |
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Interesting point, Dustman. It certainly explains a few things in Oklahoma City. All the nerds are centralized around the Seagate plant on the west side of town, along with the college and medical complex. I'm on the southeast side of OKC, with all the sports complexes and auto body shops. Here, there's not a nerd to be found -- the only strains of human in the sector seem to fall under the 'retarded cheerleader/jock' genus, as measured in the standard "State and National Sports Championship Trophy per Capita" unit.
Thus, it certainly explains why I, as a nerd, have as yet been unable to attract a stupid, large-breasted female from amongst the local population.
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Now if you'll excuse me, there's a bottle in the cupboard with my name on it.
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| Post Number: 4
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Wiley
©0®ÞØ®4+3 whØ®3
Group: Members
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,05:37 |
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Did you happen to catch the Neanderthal and Primordial thing on the Discovery channel? After watching that last Sunday I went walking on 3rd Street (3rd Street Promenade is a strip near the beach in Santa Monica that is home to the local freak population ..lots of homeless, one with a psychic cat and some with dancing monkeys playing organ grinders) and was thinking just about the same thing. Basically the show was about how there were two species of man living at the same time and within close proximity. They had completely different social structures and languages and didn't interact much with each other. I looked at some of the freaks and it hit me ...my world is so foreign to them and theirs to me. We are different species. They will breed more freak and I will breed more geek. I doubt their offspring would be computer literate and mine will most likely never be swinging cinder-blocks from their nipples for spare change.
Evolution in humans is a reality and natural selection does exist. Think about the evil big kid who dominated the dodge-ball court during physical education who went on to be the captain of the football team in High School ..and now is on a scholarship in college. He will graduate and play second string pro ball and marry a catalog model that really would be much happier with you if she ever gave you the chance. You however will fall for some girl in your study group who makes the best Mac & Cheese you've ever tasted during a late night cramming session. If there is no variance in a humans that can classify them as different species then why are some social traits so easy to define and categorize?
On a side note, why isn't man divided in sub-species? I mean a Northern Black Bear and a Northwestern Brown Bear are two different species, but an Eskimo and a Nigerian are the same species? One is short round and has no nose bridge and one is tall thin and very dark. We are different species ...why is everybody so afraid to say it? It doesn't mean you're racist ...just means you like to define things.
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There's a sucker born every minute ...but swallowers are hard to find.
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Uberkommando
My cup is half empty.
Group: Members
Posts: 337
Joined: Jan. 2002
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,05:52 |
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Indeed... but is it possible to determine how many subgroups actually exist? After all, the 3rd street freakers could be completely incompatible with the Midamerica Boulevard freakers here in the midwest. Could it be that random selection and environment shape us more than genetics? If so, wouldn't that mean that an 'individual' adapts himself to fit the lifestyle surrounding him when he reaches the climactic crisis of his life, rather than having his personality be preordained by DNA?
Either way, I still don't have an airhead cheerleader bimbo to give me head between classes. Dumb bitches -- don't they realize I'm their god?
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Now if you'll excuse me, there's a bottle in the cupboard with my name on it.
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| Post Number: 6
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DuSTman
70% water in a flexible container.
Group: Members
Posts: 797
Joined: May 2000
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,05:59 |
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This does raise the question of exactly how different one sort of person has to be before you would give them a nametag as being an entirely different species.
Also numbers. In theory, you probably wouldn't recognise the first animal of a new species as being that. You'd probably just think of them as a wierd occurrance of an existing species. You'd probably hold off assigning them a new species name until the population had grown to at least a couple hundred..
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Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz
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| Post Number: 7
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mqa
Man of the Sea
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,06:39 |
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the reason eskimos and nigerians are considered one species is because they can breed and produce fertile offspring, whereas (i assume) the bears cannot. the variances in the human race are similar to that of different breeds of dogs.
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The young people of America need be taught that the only pride they may properly hold is in the content of their character, and the achievements they make. There is no legitimate pride or moral credit to be gained by virtue of sharing the same race with a great and admirable individual.
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kbreak
I am almost one of Us.
Group: Members
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Joined: Dec. 2001
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,11:54 |
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Woof!
Um, pant and stuff.
damn.
is that all there is?
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| Post Number: 9
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Wiley
©0®ÞØ®4+3 whØ®3
Group: Members
Posts: 1268
Joined: Oct. 2001
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,13:47 |
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| Quote (mqa @ 25 April 2002,22:39) | | the variances in the human race are similar to that of different breeds of dogs. |
And I'm pretty sure that differerent breeds of dogs have different species names ...they are in the same class, but different species. Who's a bio person ...clear this up
k-thnx
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There's a sucker born every minute ...but swallowers are hard to find.
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| Post Number: 10
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Necromancer
Ace Rimmer
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Posted on: Apr. 26 2002,14:43 |
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go read the darwin awards. evolution is still very much in effect in the human race.
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There'll be time for explanations later... and hopefully, some sex
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