Okay, so I got up this morning feeling rather crappy. The meds I took at 1:30 AM, after studying for a few hours, had a lingering drowsy feeling this morning. My eyes wouldn't stay open, and I was afraid I would fall asleep during my math midterm at 10.
Then I took some aspirin and drank a bunch of coffee, and almost arrived late for my midterm. I felt fine by the time the exam started, and blew right through my exam. (I wouldn't be too surprised if I got a 100!!!) Except I got really unstable - my hands started shaking near the end because of all the caffeine.
Then I speed-walked at 30 miles/hr to my biology lecture, where I learned something that makes me love biology.
Apparently, evolution plays a part in whether humans have dry or wet earwax. Almost all East Asians have dry earwax, whereas nearly all Africans and Caucasians have wet earwax. East Asians have evolved from having wet earwax to having dry earwax (and because evolution only happens if the trait that evolved gives an advantage in survival, dry earwax must help humans survive better. So eventually, all humans will have dry earwax.). That means that, in terms of earwax saturation, people like Ginny and James are primitive compared to me. Ha ha ha!
9 comments:
Jay, there is a simple explanation as to why your eyes wouldn't stay open, and it has something to do with biology as well. Heritage!
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Maybe east asians evolved that way in response to a certain aspect of the environment that's only present in east asia. That would explain why only east asians evolved that way. It would also mean that since you're not living in east asia anymore, you're now at an evolutionary disadvantage relative to james and ginny.
Even if your theory is right, though, I don't know if caucasians will ever evolve to have dry ear wax. It seems like with all the medicine and control over the environment that we now have, we're not going to evolve in the same way. Only specific untreatable diseases that interfere with procreation will still be weeded out due to evolution. And even then, we'll probably destroy the world before any major changes occur.
Hmm, well, I don't know about that environment argument. Africans and Caucasians both have wet earwax, which doesn't make much sense when you apply the environment-theory. Unless there's something that those two environments have in common that East Asia doesn't have.
It's not necessarily correct to say that I'm now at an evolutionary disadvantage relative to James and Ginny, since, well, their predecessors came from Europe. We would have to look at the earwax characteristics of Native Americans.
Actually, I decided that it doesn't really apply anyways since I'm now about 2500 miles away from them, in a different environment, anyways.
I don't know if medicine or whatnot will stop (or even reverse!) the evolutionary sweep now in progress, since we don't know what advantage dry earwax even confers! But you certainly are right about the destroying-the-world part.
In response to P. 1:
Yes, the environments of Europe and Africa are very different, but it is still easily conceivable that both of them lack whatever specific environmental factor that caused dry ear wax in asia.
P. 2:
Good point.
P. 3:
It might still apply. If the specific environmental factor that affects ear wax is the same on the east coast as on the west coast, then for the purpose of this discussion you are still in the same environment.
P. 4:
I guess you have a point. But it seems unlikely that type of ear wax would cause a problem that couldn't be easily cured by modern medicine. Although it's possible that it's linked to some deadly form of cancer, in which case there's still the chance of evolution taking place. However, in order for that to happen, it would have to cause a problem that we wouldn't figure out how to cure for as long as it takes for the evolution to occur. Considering that it takes thousands of years, at the very least, that is most unlikely. So, in conclusion, even if your theory is right, there is only an extremely remote chance of evolution taking place with regards to earwax in caucasians.
Okay, so evolution won't take place. Not remotely soon anyways. The problem is that most of the arguments we just made are based on a lot of "if's":
If East Asia's environment has something that those of Europe or Africa don't.
If the environments of the East and West Coast have the same factor affecting the evolutionary trend of human earwax.
If dry earwax really confers a major advantage in survival, or a silly advantage which really doesn't matter at all but somehow helps us 'survive' better.
If the evolution in human earwax really deserves this much discussion.
Hypothetical of hypotheticals right there.
I'm a philosopher, what can I say.
Actually, I can say this: since we don't know much of the stuff we're talking about, we have no choice but to examine each question from both sides, considering what it would mean if each of the possible options were true. Any discussion without these ifs would be incomplete.
It's important to note that I'm not trying to prove anything, only disprove certain assumptions by bringing up the other possibilities, and examining the probabilities of each case so that we have a better understanding of the situation.
You might as well be a scientist. All they do is disprove theories... their labs never actually PROVE anything.
I guess you are right about the "if's". But if only we had the actual answers!
Well having no theory is better than having a false theory.
wow how could i miss this JAB to my whole being??? ahaha jay you are a witty one.... oh me of wet earwax... why oh why????
but come now. [the refute].... "evolutionary advantage/ disadvantage" come now..... was ridiculous blather is this?! ;-)
"my predecessors" did come from europe.... but golly... it's usually said "ancestors" ha.
"having no theory is better than having a flase theory" hmmmm. i thought that a theory was something... nevermind. that's an interesting statement/ quote mr smith.
this is actually a fascinating discussion, of which i have added nothing.
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