[extropy-chat] Reverse Evolution ?

[Pete Bertine]

English researchers found the subjects in Turkey to be far smarter than Dr
Tan did, raising question as to whether they were actually retarded.

(from article)

*The British group portrayed the victims’ language abilities more generously
than did Tan, who wrote that they speak a “primitive” language of a few
hundred words.

“They can all speak and understand Kurdish well enough to communicate within
their own family, and three of them also speak some Turkish,” Humphrey’s
group wrote. “But their articulation is poor, and it seems they have a
restricted vocabulary” and problems with word arrangement. However, “They
interacted with us as visitors in a friendly and courteous way.”*
* http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060225_syndromefrm.htm

This suggests that they were acting like apes for Dr. Tan or that Tan just
wanted to see ape people.  After reading Tan's paper I found his scientific
and reasoning method to be rather crude.  The British Group's comments seem
to convey that they met a group of 5 people with some serious problems, not
5 throwbacks in the chain of human evolution.

pete



> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-
> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Ian Goddard
> Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 2:27 AM
> To: extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Reverse Evolution ?
> 
> >
> http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060221_unertanfrm.htm
> 
> It's claimed there the quadrupedal members of the
> family have a newly discovered syndrome. However, in a
> PubMed search I found a preexisting syndrome called
> "dysequilibrium syndrome" (DES) that prevented 11
> mentally retarded members of a Hutterite community
> from walking unassisted until between 5 to 21 years of
> age. DES apparently goes back even further. The
> individuals in the recent case are also described as
> retarded. These syndromes may be the same and I
> suspect are not "reverse evolution" to prehuman
> primate neurology as suggested above.
> 
> Am J Med Genet (1981): "We report a nonprogressive
> neurological disorder in at least 11 Hutterites with
> healthy but consanguineous parents. In several of the
> affected, hypotonia was noted at birth. Retarded motor
> and mental development became apparent during the
> first year of life. The age of unsupported walking
> varied from 5-21 years. [...] The disorder is probably
> the same as that described earlier under the heading,
> dysequilibrium syndrome."
> http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=7246619
> 
> Am J Med Genet (1985): "This is a preliminary note on
> the occurrence of the disequilibrium syndrome (DES) in
> the Dariusleut Hutterites of Montana. Previously the
> condition was reported in the Dariusleut of Alberta by
> Schurig et al [1981] as an autosomal recessive,
> non-progressive neurological disorder with congenital
> hypotonia, considerable psychomotor retardation,
> unsteady broadly based gait and stance, increased deep
> tendon reflexes, and mild to moderate mental
> retardation. Affected individuals were short. In the
> Montana family studied by us in 1981, a brother and
> three sisters are affected."
> http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=4061489
> http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110517046/
> 
> "DES is an autosomal recessive disorder with distinct
> clinical features including global developmental
> delay, late ambulation (after age 6 y), truncal
> ataxia, and a static clinical course."
> http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=16174313
> 
> ~Ian
> 
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