You're weird in at least ten ways
The New Scientist's "Ten things we don't understand about humans" is a head-scratching tour of humanity's inexplicables from laughter to pubic hair:
Pubic hair: Scent radiator, warmth provider, or chafe protection? The answer to why humans have clumps of hair in private places is still open for debate...Ten things we don't understand about humans (via Kottke)Teenagers: Even our closest relatives, the great apes, move smoothly from their juvenile to adult life phases - so why do humans spend an agonising decade skulking around in hoodies?
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I enjoyed this article, but I've got one major (well, minor) complaint with it: the "altruism" section. For over a hundred years, supporters of evolution have argued against Darwin's simplistic "competition is everything" theory with a theory called Mutual Aid, first presented by Peter Kropotkin.
Essentially, the idea is that not every animal is motivated purely by self-interest, but that species and community survival are important as well.
I love the idea that there might be a hidden health benefit to nose picking.
A number of the things on the list (blushing, laughter, altruism, art, kissing, superstition[religion]) are directly related to our advanced capacity for social interaction. Surely our ability to create and maintain complex social structures has given us a survival/reproductive advantage?
As for teenagers, I think other apes have a period for the male juveniles when they basically act like social outcasts. Also, isn't the "teenager" a relatively modern manifestation for humans? In older, agrarian societies, teens would already be working/raising families, etc.
None of them make any sense if you're a greedy capitalist. If, however, you realize that civilization is only a few thousand years old (and for most of humanity, a few hundred) then they all make sense in a hunter-gatherer society. We are hunter-gatherers. Our ancestors have spent millions of years as hunter-gatherers. This has left an influence on our genes. Civilization has not been around long enough for that to happen. So trying to explain these things in its terms is just silly.
Teenagers are an invention of the late-19th century and moreover the post-war 20th century. They exist as a demographic now because Capitalism loves to sell crap like Britney Spears records to them as a way to get more of the parent's money.
Also someone has to work at all the non-living wage fast food restaurants.
It is unnatural for a person who has been through puberty not to be out in the world doing something productive. Instead we incarcerate kids in school and give them shitty jobs that we don't want to do until they are old enough to join the military. There were no spoiled teenagers in the 18th century. There were spoiled *people* but not spoiled teenagers. I am surprised they are reading culture as nature here.
Loada shite. I'll quote a comment that i found appropriate:
"These are the top ten human body mysteries? Come on now, for a science magazine, this is a joke. It reads like an article for teens: nosepicking, kissing, pit hair, superstitions.... you left out farts. Your article sticks!"
You shouldn't spread this crap.
I would add the odd human need to put things in lists of 10.
Pubic hair has a useful function in signaling sexual maturity and reproductive capacity.
BTW, I can't believe that the magazine chose to illustrate that entry with a woman who, inexplicably, is not only wearing pants and no shirt, but is holding a *razor* near her groin. Is this culture so f-ed-up today in its obsession with hairless flesh that the only way that even the *suggestion* of female pubic hair (and its evolutionary value!) is tolerable is by implying its imminent removal?
If skulking around in hoodies is wrong, I don't want to be right.
Nosehat said: "I love the idea that there might be a hidden health benefit to nose picking."
But it would be awfully inconvenient to have to constantly remove your hat, wouldn't it?
@Robulus: Doh!
Chimps pick their noses. Cows stick their tongues up there. Boogers taste good. No mystery.
I think the answer to most of the list can / will be found in better analysis of the form of sel-aware consciousness peculiar to humans.
@ #6 the odd human need to put things in lists of ten is likely an outgrowth of our 'natural' base-ten number system, you'll note that healthy humans have ten fingers, hence ten 'counting numbers'. If humans naturally had 8 fingers or 15 we would likely make top 8 or top 15 lists.
Pubic hair and armpit hair most likely acts as a benign bacterial reservoir.
I read that eating boogers as a baby, thus being exposed to the germs contained therein, may actually strengthen the baby's immune system.
@Nosehat and Robulus: Funniest comment exchange ever. :)
The urge to kiss is not brought about by genes? What does that mean? If that means it's a culturally dependent way to signify affection, that's it's own answer.
Cultural artifacts being "scientized" is a result of encouraging people to enter scientific fields of study. I will not go so far as to say scientists are born instead of made, but non-predisposed scientists come up with a lot of this sort of thing.
See also: fMRI
From a sociological perspective, Desmond Morris's "Naked Ape" (conveniently available in either book or movie form) is a good starting point.
"Pubic hair has a useful function..."
Hey, I don't know about the rest of you fellas, but this guy needs a little "traction" to get in the "action," you know what I'm sayin'?
Fellas?
[crickets chirping]
Uh, ladies? Gnome sane?
(Also, we've already established that doggies not only dream, but suffer myriad sleep disorders.)
more cushion for the pushin, duh?!
Erm, what exactly is this supposed to be about?
The only possible *scientific* answer to questions like "why do we have pubic hair?" is "Because we evolved that way", surely?
Where evolution is concerned, you don't ask "why". You ask, "did this help the species -- or was it just a biproduct of some other mutation that did -- or is it actually harming the species?"
"Why" would imply a designer, which would be rather non-scientific.
There's a big difference between picking your nose (to clear blocked nasal passages) and eating boogers.
This is kind of a lame list and only a mystery if don't see a benefit in collective survival when it comes to passing on genes. Sure a sociopath that runs around dumping sperm into anything with two legs might sound like a good reproduction strategy, but as it turns out such people tend to be killed by humans who form up into bands and score a lot more pun-tang by sharing the love and then sticking around to help our chubby little fat headed kids get old enough to spread their genes. If you realize that there is a pretty stark advantage if being able to work with your fellow humans, than most of these behaviors make complete sense.
Blushing, laughing, altruism, and kissing are all methods by which we build bands of humans. Even stuff like blushing makes senses when you consider the survival of the whole species. The ability to detect bullshit in your fellow humans might not help that particular human, but it certainly helps to form more stable bands when lying is hard.
Superstition is just that nasty piece of pattern recognition software between your eyes trying to find meaning in ink blots. Better a false positive, "it rained because I did a crazy dance!" than a false negative, "the increase in lion roars as I head north is just a coincidence no pattern here!". Art is probably much the same pattern recognition system tweaking, combined with sexual display. If a dude has time to sit around tatting himself up with some killer tribal tats, he probably isn't starving to death.
Nose picking is to get crap out of your nose. You know... that hole you breath through. Keeping the breathing holes open is pretty useful.
Pubs... eh, maybe I'll give you that one. It could be they are there to keep your junk warm, do some fun scent something or another, or maybe it just serves as display (which is what breasts are for BTW, non-lactating apes never need anything bigger than a training bra).
Dreams... well, that is actually a good one.
I thought the list was pretty inane. A lot of those 'mysteries' have solid answers, and most of them have pretty good theories. Not addressing any of the theories was a lame journalistic cop out. If picking 10 things you are personally ignorant about and declaring them unsolvable mysteries of the Orient is all it takes to get published these days, maybe I need a second job.
...and then I noticed you can click on each of the things listed and get an actual article with substance...
Can someone maybe shed some light on crying for me?
I mean, I understand getting upset, but why is our physical reaction for our tear ducts to suddenly let loose a bunch of liquid?
Sweating serves the purpose of cooling us down when we're hot, but I'm not clear on how releasing liquid from our eyes evolved as a response to being upset and what purpose it could possibly serve.
Dreaming is only a human trait? My dog dreams all the time, even kicks his legs like he is chasing a rabbit or something while he sleeps. snores a lot too.
maybe he's just emulating me.
I like Vidya108's theory that pubic hair is indicative of sexual maturity. Thank goodness that our species doesn't use the big, red swollen butt that some monkeys use to indicate fertility!
Nosepicking? Basic grooming. The cat is on the couch washing the human scent off from my petting her. The dog is washing where his balls used to be, perhaps missing them. Ducks outside are doing maintenance on their feathers, and I'm in here, picking my... words carefully.
The one that's weird to me is that bazaar nervous convulsion: laughter. Remember laughing so hard you couldn't talk, couldn't even stand up straight? Your stomach muscles ache, your eyes water, you can't even breath right? It's crippling! I think that's the weirdest human trait.
Not dreaming. Restless Paws Syndrome.
I gotta agree with most people here, this is a very lame, unimaginative list.
1. Nose picking. So you prefer to have a crusty obstruction clog your air way?
2. Laughter. Tension release, social unity, coping with bizarre juxtaposition.
3. Kissing. Ever see animals court each other?
4. Superstition. A boon and bust, but kinda makes sense.
5. Altruism. Societies actually benefits (usually) when it protects its own, especially when it's a two-way street.
6. Dreams. I doubt we're the only creature that does this.
7. Pubic Hair. As mentioned in previous comments, sign of sexual maturity is a good explanation. Could've also helped mask genitalia and provided warmth in earlier times.
8. Art. This is a bit more abstract, but certainly everyone wants to be entertained or fascinated to some degree, whether it stimulates intellectual curiosity or just relaxes you.
9. Teenagers. Not all are wild, unstable, unnecessarily rebel-like. I think we kinda forget that before birth control, these were pretty much the primary mating years. All animals kinda get crazy when in heat. Although, the time frame (of sexual maturity) is debatable, since recent changes to diet may be stimulating sexual maturity at younger ages, and younger than perhaps they used to be (or should be).
Certainly open to debate, but one of the few entries worthy of the list.
10. Blushing. Okay, this one doesn't make much sense, in a lot of ways. From a social perspective, it perhaps leaves one vulnerable by betraying their emotions. On the other hand, it may elicit a more effective response from individuals.
But this one can make the list too.
Someone else may have mentioned it already (too many comments to read through, too little time), but not every trait needs to have a purpose. Some of these traits could be superfluous ones that are somehow genetically linked to other more obviously beneficial traits. This whole idea that every aspect of the human body must be finely-honed towards some important purpose is wrong for some of the same reasons that intelligent design is wrong.