[extropy-chat] on Spike's big ass theory

Spike spike66 at comcast.net
Sun Nov 21 02:33:35 UTC 2004


> Rik van Riel
> 
> There's no need for logic. The offspring of people
> who chose their partner poorly have less survival
> chance than the offspring of strong parents.
> 
>...
> 
> In fact, some of these selecting factors have been
> so ingrained into our culture that many people
> aren't consciously aware of them. Rik

Both of these points I acknowledge, but what I am
really getting at is this: there are human characteristics
which are driven by mate selection that may or may
not have survival value.

Before when this discussion came up, I suggested
an experiment to demonstrate that our enormous
gluteus maxima do very little when we walk.  Just
grab them (or have a cooperative coexperimenter
grab them) and walk across the room, and see how
un-stressed they are.  Now this latest paper 
suggests that human gluts are huge because it
helps us run.  Granted sprinters have large
gluts, but champion long distance runners have 
small buns.  (If one were to repeat the experiment
above while running, one might need to do so
outdoors, for one's house is probably too small
to get up much speed.  This might accomplish
little other than to make the neighbors afraid
of you.  But think of how much one might save
on Halloween candy alone.  But I digress)

Here is the reason I focus on rears:  some physical
characteristics are balanced by gender selection,
such as shoulder width.  Females may prefer males
with broad shoulders while males may prefer females
with narrow shoulders.  That characteristic might
reach a balance for that reason.  But both genders
like mates with protruding buttocks and large heads,
which may explain why humans have enormous butts
and brains so large that they represent a very
significant risk to mothers in childbirth.
Or rather did represent significant risk until 
very recently, with the advent of surgical birth, 
which appears to clear the path for a new phase 
of human evolution.

spike




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