The summation of my education..

[Utsanomiko]

Seriously, I was born as a preemie, and I wouldn't have survived without
modern medical aid.

EDIT: So was my brother too.

So was Spanky. The similarities between the two of you start to make more sense now...

Anyway, I think the real issue at the bottom of all this is that vaginas are too strange and complicated to trytosaydead, and he is very afraid of them.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Apparently, as Duchess has pointed out, your education wasn't complete.

Think you can get a refund?

Hell, I want a refund--it was probably paid for with my tax dollars!

(No offense to hard-working people on FinAid, but the libertarian in me couldn't help that!)

[Trytostaydead]

They hunted, they gathered, they moved. In a fairly wide range, actually. But no matter which group you studied you're not going to find more disease concentration in a single fourty-person tribal grouping than in ancient Babylon, because the tribal grouping moves every day and doesn't stay in the same place with their raw built up sewage and garbage.

Perhaps not disease ratios. But I can bet that there is a very very incomplete record of hunter/gatherers. And if they're constantly on the move, gravesites would likewise be scattered and sparse.

But constantly moving also presents their own risks as they're always being introduced into environments which they may or may not be suited for. And how does this have to do with vaginas...

[Darth Fanboy]

Hell, I want a refund--it was probably paid for with my tax dollars!

(No offense to hard-working people on FinAid, but the libertarian in me couldn't help that!)

Well Im not on FinAid but I am getting Work Study Checks every month, so I think Im qualified to accept the apology ja?

Nice to know that you dont need to spend five figures to get a good education, seeing as how Im spending less than $1,000 each semester at my local California Community College. Take that Subspace!

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Perhaps not disease ratios. But I can bet that there is a very very incomplete record of hunter/gatherers. And if they're constantly on the move, gravesites would likewise be scattered and sparse.

Constantly is a vague term over the scale of years we're discussing. They followed the herds. We have a good fossil record for hunter-gatherers, including burials; we also have their artwork, for example. All of this is very much supported I can assure you and I can recommend you to some anthropological journals for some reading if you'd like.

But constantly moving also presents their own risks as they're always being introduced into environments which they may or may not be suited for.

STOP.

Read that again and then read it again. Then think about where humans live now.

That's right.

Everywhere.

Congratulations, Shirlock, you just figured out why we're such a successful species--we're suited to just about every single land enviroment on this planet.

And how does this have to do with vaginas...

Oh, I'm sure the conversation's progression has been followed by someone or another.

[Trytostaydead]

STOP.

Read that again and then read it again. Then think about where humans live now.

That's right.

Everywhere.

Mmmm.. yes and no. That's a broad answer if you're judging time by evolutionary standards. Yes, humans are VERY quick adapters.. on the thousand year scale. Which is not to say they're NOT quick, actually they're very damn quick.. but not in the next generation or even current generation sense without the help of technology. But you're talking about hunters and gatherers, essentially next week adaptation.

Without help from the resources on hand (i.e. sources of calcium and the selective ability of certain groups of people to process lactose), it requires time for a selective trait within a geographical confine to become widespread. Granted, if it's a heterozygous advantage.. it'll occur really quickly.. probably within a few generations.. but as I said.. up to that few generations those without the advantage are going to have problems.

Let's take the most basic example, sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell under homozygous situations is extremely deadly without modern medical care, but heterozygous is wonderfully advantageous to surviving in malaria ridden areas. Now, it fluctuates quickly depending on migration and can drop to normal selected out in the absense of malaria of advantageous qualities extremely quickly and likewise rise as well. However, the factor is GENERATIONS.

And that was my point. While yes indeed, humans are quite adaptable to a given situation given the proper tools, resources and time. It also requires on some part for advantageous traits to be selected for and disadvantageous ones selected against. And as you know.. that doesn't happen over night.. and in particular environments.. it can be selected quite handidly.

So I'm not saying you're wrong.. from a certain point of view. Humans ARE incredibly versatile. But just not quite THAT versatile. In fact, there's been some hub bub about bone deformities of early graves in Northern Europe which could help explain the selective trait for lactose ingestion.. interesting stuff.

And it's spelled Sherlock.

[LordShaithis]

Periods and PMS are certainly major annoyances. Then again, we males have anger management problems, neurotic competitiveness, and violence issues stemming from the effect of testosterone on brain chemistry.

Well yeah, but testosterone is just sorta there, like every other chemical in our brains. Much easier to deal with than going apeshit and bleeding from the genitals on a regular basis.

[InnerBrat]

Much easier to deal with than going apeshit and bleeding from the genitals on a regular basis.

Yeah, going apeshit on an irregular basis and having mood cyles that last for hours must be much more fun.

[Zac Naloen]

i hate being 17, my testosterone is currently through the roof... im always having mood swings and have just two things on my mind...

beating the crap outta the guy sat across the room from me.

and 1 girl who is confusing the hell out of me.

[Shinova]

Yeah, going apeshit on an irregular basis and having mood cyles that last for hours must be much more fun.

Both sides are really more level-headed than most put it. It's the extreme cases that make a bad example for the rest.


On that note: Testosterone.....I might as well say, "what's that?"

[Zaia]

Periods and PMS are certainly major annoyances. Then again, we males have anger management problems, neurotic competitiveness, and violence issues stemming from the effect of testosterone on brain chemistry.

Well yeah, but testosterone is just sorta there, like every other chemical in our brains. Much easier to deal with than going apeshit and bleeding from the genitals on a regular basis.

You know that it's healthy for a woman to have a regular period, right? It flushes out her system so she can get ready to fertilize the next egg, if everything falls into place. There can be major medical problems when a woman doesn't have her period in a regular cycle, so why do some of you seem to think it's unhealthy? Because you think it's yucky? Because you don't understand it?

[Superman]

Do I need to chime in on this or what? It's like I said, the vagina is like Area 51 or Roswell. I have no idea what goes on in the old vagina. All I know is that my girlfriend sometimes comes down with a bladder infection, has periods, etc. Very weird. Like I said, as far as I know, the vagina could be filled with pink foam. Since my girlfriend is Japanese, what goes on in her vagina is obviously more mysterious than what happens in the white vagina.

And now I am going to wait to see how long it takes for an overly serious board member to say something like 'there's nothing going on at Roswell, blah blah blah," or some other comment that reflects the member thinking that I am serious... (Although I sort of am serious).

[InnerBrat]

Since my girlfriend is Japanese, what goes on in her vagina is obviously more mysterious than what happens in the white vagina.

How did you get to that conclusion?

[Gandalf]

Do I need to chime in on this or what? It's like I said, the vagina is like Area 51 or Roswell. I have no idea what goes on in the old vagina. All I know is that my girlfriend sometimes comes down with a bladder infection, has periods, etc. Very weird. Like I said, as far as I know, the vagina could be filled with pink foam. Since my girlfriend is Japanese, what goes on in her vagina is obviously more mysterious than what happens in the white vagina.

No man is meant to know what goes on in there. Like how women aren't meant to know what happens in the men's locker room.