Re: Bumbling in, Bumbling Along

Joel and Lynn Gazis-Sax (gazissax@best.com)
Fri, 16 Aug 1996 13:18:18 -0800

Nader Fakhraie wrote:
>
> To the person who critized James Howard's evolutionary hypothesis
> (gassax@best.com) :
>
> How would you explain the migration of the Australian natives from Africa?
> I had read that they did so about 20k years ago, by boat(!!).
>

Um, I don't know how I got branded with this one. Who is James Howard?

> A rather "advanced" way to look for food, eh?

I never said that such peoples couldn't manage such a trick. People
are quite clever. I spend a lot of time in this group arguing with
race and intelligence experts in opposition to the Bell Curve all
the time.

>
> There's something missing from both arguments : "wandering" is a
> psychological activity, too. JH's DHEA hypothesis at least gives
> a basis for this (a "soft" assumption) which makes most anthropologists look
> like chimpanzees
> searching for bones. Brain activity depends on DHEA, and JH points this
> out. Where have the "soft" scientists done this? If you think this is
> unimportant, you can't go on w/the testosterone hypothesis.
>

Um, um, um. Never said this either.


> Isn't it obvious, from present observations, that the dumbest men can
> raise to high achievement by way of their "testosterone" (and ignorance
> , to their detriment of their lifespan) ?
> This doesn't
> mean that testosterone makes men merely physically better, and thus
> migration becomes possible. As for anthropological research, JH makes
> it clear that it's "revolutionary" (i.e. new, undeveloped).
>

Oh! That was Mary Beth Williams! My friend the Native American
archaeologist with whom I chimed in! I chimed in mainly about the
testosterone comment, which I found delightfully sarcastic.

But I will say that it is not quite so obvious. If testosterone
were the source of all power, then we'd be ruled by teenagers,
not old men. You can quote me as disagreeing with you on the
testosterone issue.


> It's amazing how many people simply don't read everything one posts
> before commenting. Is Usenet a way to go back to Jr. HS or a schema for
> developing ideas ? (I guess you have more logic than a Jr. HSer; you seem
> to use it to discredit others' work, instead of understanding their views).
>

Well, to be charitable, I've sometimes rushed in on the wrong person before,
too.

> What good is criticism if you have nothing to add?
> Did you even read his articles?

Can't say that I did. Aside from reading Mary Beth's amusing remarks and
indicating my appreciation for them, I haven't been in this debate at all.

Regards,

Joel

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