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To: donh
Yes, still a correct statement: I objected to the claim you originally made. Are you aware that there's a difference between being ignored and being argued with?

Quite aware, it's just that in this particular instance, your execution was somewhat lacking.

What speaks against your notion that this is learned behavior channeled back into the genes in some Lysenko-esque feedback loop

Yes, what prompted this was an evolutionary article read on an airplane trip maybe 10 years ago, in which the feedback of behaviour and coloration was discussed. For example, the behavior of some Central American frogs whose males go to great lengths to attract a mate, including bright colors, loud croaking, and prominent visual display, despite the increased marginal risk of being eaten before getting to mate. Or the hiding / flight behaviour of garter snakes of different coloration patterns, where the snakes with one color scheme ("blotches") freeze when confronted with a possible predator (to blend in better), where the snakes with a different type ("racing stripes") slither quickly, (the continuous flowing lines make it hard for the predator to pinpoint the snake's head). In other words, I was not attempting to attack your claims on homosexuality by linking them to Lysenkoism, but to relate the mechanism to others I had read about.

Some will have nary a trace of it, and some even though close relatives, will be flaming fairies, of some particular type or another, with no apparent regard for the evolutionary sequence. This indicates that it's an hormonally induced strategy, like a dietary preference.

Or that there remains a behavioural and social component. Without your adducing specific examples, or looking at the other factors at play for the species considered, I cannot decide between hormones, social component, or other causes. Has that question in fact been addressed in good faith in the sources you rely upon?
Cheers!

594 posted on 05/13/2006 6:53:55 AM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: grey_whiskers
Has that question in fact been addressed in good faith in the sources you rely upon?

Let me yet again suggest googling up Red Queen, or altruistic behavior. I'll find you some double blind, refereed material, as soon as you show me the double-blind, refereed material that demonstrates that all queer behavior uniformly degrades reproductive success.

601 posted on 05/13/2006 7:05:45 AM PDT by donh
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