Clever as a Fox (genetic consequences of domesticating animals -- we're doing it to ourselves)

Geoff Milburn ^ | 3/20/09 | Geoff Milburn

[LibWhacker]

And the out there thought for the day? We’re doing this to ourselves. We don’t encourage people to act aggressively all day to everyone they meet. We reward certain behaviours more than other behaviours. My unprovable conjecture? Humanity is selecting itself for certain behaviours, and the traits we think of as fundamentally human (loss of hair, retention of juvenile characteristics relative to primates) are a side effect of this self-selection.

His "out there" thought is not so far out there to conservatives who have been paying attention. Libs are gradually taming us, sissifying us. Soon there will be no one left capable of defending the country.

[JoeProBono]

[pgkdan]

Bump

[autumnraine]

Domesticated Fox

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvzg0NplkLE

(Seriously, click it. You will the awwws in your heart)

[autumnraine]

Domesticated Fox

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvzg0NplkLE

(Seriously, click it. You will the awwws in your heart)

[OneWingedShark]

>Soon there will be no one left capable of defending the country.

*nod*
There’s the psychological aspect of it too...

[mamelukesabre]

I believe his theory.

[bert]

The animal pictured is Vulpes ferengi but there is a movement among leftwing zoologists to rename it Vulpes obama

[LibWhacker]

Cute, thanks! :-)

[SunkenCiv]

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[Salamander]

Ur-Dogs rule!

[allmendream]

Evolution in action.

I like the “and if you are a cat owner, at this point you would count the experiment as a success”.

Also the 1950’s Russian scientist working on a giant robot!

The Lysenko reference was nice also.

For those of you in Rio Linda, the Soviets opposed the theory of Evolution through natural selection of genetic variation as they thought of it as too capitalistic. They promoted a pseudo Lamarckian named Lysenko to oversee the new “communist science” of evolution that didn't involve natural selection or genes.

[Varda]

bump for later read. If this is the same Russian guy, than he’s making a correlation implying causation argument except that he doesn’t get the correlation right.

[thefrankbaum]

The problem with that is that conservatives, on the whole, “breed” more than others. The sissifying trend must then be based on social/psychological forced.

[thefrankbaum]

forced = forces. Libs are in teh internets, moving my letturz

[null and void]

They promoted a pseudo Lamarckian named Lysenko to oversee the new “communist science” of evolution that didn't involve natural selection or genes.

Sorta like some peepole on FR?

[allmendream]

Yep, the peepole who say they don't “believe” in evolution, but wish to cram 100,000 years of human evolution into 6,000; and think all species evolved from a few that could fit on a boat a few thousand years ago.

Those peepoles.

[Free Vulcan]

That’s why when liberals start chanting ‘pacifism’, I always respond ‘no, it’s pacification so we will not resist an imperialist socialist world government.’ They always scatter like cockroaches when I say that.

There needs to be civil society, don’t me wrong. But we need aggressiveness at times too. Previous generations to the Baby Boomers understood that balance. Now that is being undone.

What the libs are really doing is pacifying the intelligent, educated, ambitious, patriotic people while agitating the uneducated, lazy, selfish people to violence, especially in the ghettos and trailer parks. Creating a two-tiered society where one is used to subdue the other and make the govt all-powerful in the process.

[Pearls Before Swine]

The problem with that is that conservatives, on the whole, “breed” more than others.

You haven't been in the 'hood lately. Its easy to breed when others pay the costs and give you a bonus, besides.

[Hyzenthlay]

I somewhat disagree with your assessment. Many of the ‘fundamentally human’ traits such as prolonged adolescence and hair loss have been around for long before the whole liberal ‘peace’ movement came into being, or for that matter, centuries before America and our political parties even existed.

I think what he means by the part about not encouraging people to act aggressively doesn’t mean that we’re losing the ability or willingness to fight if necessary. Even in the case of a domesticated cat, you put him near another strange cat, and chances are the fur will start flying. Even in the cases of larger primates, like gorillas or chimps (remember that recent angry chimp story?) who live in social groups can get quite violent with outsiders, and the males will still fight each other like crazy. Humans, on the other hand, while they don’t feel the need to make friends with every single living thing like a domestic dog might, also don’t generally feel a drive to beat down or kill every stranger they meet like a wild animal would - and the few that do, we put into mental institutions.

Although, odd last thought about the prolonged adolescence, that’s certainly decresing these days, so if anything, it would indicate we’re getting more wired towards aggression as a general population. Although, it’s still all very fascinating.