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Re: Bipedalism and theorizing... was Re: Morgan and creationists
John Waters (jdwaters@dircon.co.uk)
18 Sep 1996 20:52:49 GMT
T&B Schmal <schmal@firstnethou.com> wrote in article
<schmal-1609962028280001@ppp021.firstnethou.com>...
>
>
> Interesting, and maybe solid. The human infant got weaker as
a kind of
> ploy to retain the attention of the mother, thus deferring the
perils of
> being out on his own?
> I can think of two possibly related examples: pigeons, which
do not leave
> the nest until almost full-size; and a baby's cry, which is
soooo
> irritating it demands more of a mother's attention, thus
offsetting the
> danger of making such a racket. Overall, though, it would
seem that if
> being such a helpless infant is a survival plus, then why
don't we see it
> in lion cubs and monkeys also - the plan should work for all
mammal
> infants.
>
> Tom Schmal
>
JW: The problem for Lions and related specie is the suckling of
the young helpless infant, which has to be brought close to the
nipple to start the suckling process.
The problem for the Monkey and related arboreal specie is the
carriage of the helpless infant.
John Waters
John Waters is the author of "Helpless as a Baby",
a book concerned with general and human
evolution. It may be accessed at URL
http://www.dircon.co.uk/jdwaters/HAAB.htm
jdwaters@dircon.co.uk
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