Re: Origins

Phil Nicholls (pn8886@thor.albany.edu)
11 May 1995 12:03:35 GMT

In article <751@landmark.iinet.net.au>,
Gil Hardwick <gil@landmark.iinet.net.au> wrote:
>
>In article <3oiqro$f4p@rebecca.albany.edu>, Phil Nicholls (pn8886@thor.albany.edu) writes:
>>It is believed that blood groups A and B were absent from the
>>aboriginal populations of North and South America. In South America
>>and the southern part of North America the gene for A is found at
>>a frequency of 0.05 of less while the gene for B is 0.05 or less
>>throughout North and South America except for the coastal areas
>>of Australia. By contrast, the frequency of the O allele in South
>>America and the southern part of North America is between 0.95 and
>>1.0. There is an interesting pocket in Central West United States
>>in which the frequency of A reaches 0.05-0.15 and I believe it may
>>be attributed to a later movement from siberia.
>>
>>Source: Mourant, A.E. (1954) Distribution of Human Blood Groups
>> Blackwell, Oxford.

>I hope you are going to submit your account for research assistance,
>Phillip. Stimulating the interest of undergraduates in your profession
>is one thing.

Hmmm. That is actually not such a bad idea.

>Doing their homework for them is quite another thing altogether.

Actually having taught this fairly recently it was not that much
trouble: just dug into my lecture notes.

>Don't let me distract you. Merely ask yourself, how come all these
>crud computer programmers are making so much money, while the job
>prospects for highly educated research anthropologists have rarely
>been at such a low ebb.
>

Because capitalism rarely appreciates knowledge for knowledge sake
and because those who control the flow of money view computer
programers as more useful than anthropologists.

Also many of those computer programmers, having sucked dry the
system that educated them, are now voting in conservative governments
under the promise to lower taxes and thus allow them to keep more
of their fat salary to spend on cars, expensive home electronics
and other yuppie toys.

What, me bitter?

-- 

Phil Nicholls                     "To ask a question you must first

Department of Anthropology           know most of the answer." 

SUNY Albany                                      -Robert Sheckley

pn8886@cnsunix.albany.edu            SEMPER ALLOUATTA