Mr. Potato Head Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 I want to talk about things we do or have today that aren't so needed anymore and what we think or know why they were used. For instance, the appenix. From what I have heard, it was formerly used to help digest raw meat. Or on a behavioral note, how about when you are somewhere doing something and someone walks in. Even if your back is turned and you hear the door open and close, you have to turn around and see who it is. I do this all the time in the gym. Who's there!? :rant: Is this some sort of protective instinct we used to need? What other things are there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffy Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 My favorite is nipples on men. Proof to many that there is no intelligent designer! Cheers,Buffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxian Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 and how odd would we look without them? if anything male nipples means that their is little difference between the sexes, there doesn't need to be. why waste DNA on making men and women more different and incompatible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffy Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 and how odd would we look without them?Have you ever thought about how silly you guys look *with* them?if anything male nipples means that their is little difference between the sexes, there doesn't need to be. why waste DNA on making men and women more different and incompatible?But if we're designed, why *put* them there? It takes *less* DNA to leave them out! The only reason it would take more is if they were a product of....random evolutionary changes.... :rant: Cheers,Buffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxian Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 again we are one species [vive la difference.. and so forth] it would be silly to be that different and no, imo we'd look sillier without 'em. males can be induced to lactate.. like hyper gynecomastia where they not only look like breasts but are functionally equivelant. wouldn't it be funny to learn that at some point in history men did lactate to feed children? kind of an exaggerated example of phisiological sympathy men go through when their wives become pregnant. But if we're designed, why *put* them there? if you want to be biblical about it god designed adam first, thus men had the nipples first, when eve was created as an after thought they were given a function. one which adam could have had (should have) since he too should have the capacity given the proper body chemistry to create milk should anything have happened to eve. expressing them versus not expressing them the data needs to be there genetically there is no point shunting them to the female x chromosome... i don't know, i like 'em, they add character. It takes *less* DNA to leave them out debatable, the more differences the more our early development would have to change to compensate. we store quite a bit of genetic data, like a book from which individuals pull out and express pages or paragraphs, where males of course are missing a little bit of it y not x the difference is minimal. so i guess saying that genetically keeping them saves on male dna versus not expressing static data required to produce another human when propagating the species means there is little difference to the diversity between man and woman according to the dna we each carry around. a matter of expressing versus ignoring the data that would be there no matter what. what if nipples became female only, a recessive trait.. and a woman was born without 'em? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 ___How about our bilateral vestigiality? We need 2 eyes for binocular vision, but you can get by on one. Less obvious is the need for 2 lungs or 2 kidneys. Now that I think of it, aren't humans the only animal with 2 hemispheres in the brain? Removing 1 hemisphere is actually curative for some conditions.___Maybe vestigiality's purpose is waiting 'till it's needed. :rant: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxian Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 whoa whoa... binocular vision is almost primordial.. its not like monocular (if they even exist*) creatures had any kind of advantage nor is one eye more important than the other. *its like once photosynsitive tissues evolved into eyes that creatures with multiple eyes did much better than blind or monocular creatures, there was no competition and they must have died out (again if they ever existed). the eyes evolved as a single system, at least in humans, while yes having two allows for redundancy and you can get by with one its not like many cyclopses are born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 ___My point I guess is that just because something has no apparent use, it isn't logical to assume it has no use..___As to the turning around at someone's approach, it still seems to serve a survival purpose so I don't think it's vestigial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Potato Head Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 I guess I was referring more to the turning around to be misunderstood. It's funny because the cardio equipment faces away from the door and you can see everyone turn around. Some people do their best to resist but you know they want to! Anyways, I don't think anyone there thinks of it as some natural instinct to check for predators but just as being nosy. I think that's a little funny. Do you think having two of some organs evolved to overcome certain diseases? I mean, taking it to an extreme, I'd love to have a spare body in case I "total" this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 ___A vestigial "feeling" then? Have you surveyed these folks about this? Do they say "nosy"? It seems maybe the environment puts them more at ease thus giving their cognitive awareness time to ameleorate the fight-or-flight. Hey, come to think of it, why not hook them up to EKG's & do some experiments?!___Still, most people know that just because a setting appears safe, it's no guarantee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Potato Head Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 ___A vestigial "feeling" then? Have you surveyed these folks about this? Do they say "nosy"? It seems maybe the environment puts them more at ease thus giving their cognitive awareness time to ameleorate the fight-or-flight. Hey, come to think of it, why not hook them up to EKG's & do some experiments?!___Still, most people know that just because a setting appears safe, it's no guarantee. There are definitely some people I wish I could wire up but alas... Besides, I think controlled human tests dealing with behavior are tainted anyways due to self awareness. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 ___Maybe just sneak up on them & take their picture & then make a comparitive analysis of facial expressions or lack thereof if they don't turn. Maybe even capture nuances of other body language such as posture , hand position/movement etc. Maybe video instead of still. Compare the data to standard models of expression & deduce whether folks are irritated, embarassed, scared, etc.. ___I love the professional rat study. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxian Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 are you condoning studying someone without their permission using hidden video cameras? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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