Big is bad.

[Drifterwood]

I am wondering if humans are quite as smart as they think they are.

Bigger or taller etc is better. Really? This attitude is OK for times of excess, but what happens when there is a shortage? The bigger you are, the more resources you need, the more calories you need etc.

Is it that clever to breed bigger and bigger? Or maybe you think the big ones can kill the little ones and have their food as well.

 

[luka82]

Bigger cock is a better cock....and if he doesn`t know how to behave, teach him

 

[Drifterwood]

Bigger cock is a better cock....and if he doesn`t know how to behave, teach him

Good Pandas should sit and munch bamboo.

 

[luka82]

Good Pandas should sit and munch bamboo.

And be in the Survivor....but this panda is fishing for cawk

 

[paneros]

I am wondering if humans are quite as smart as they think they are.

Bigger or taller etc is better. Really? This attitude is OK for times of excess, but what happens when there is a shortage? The bigger you are, the more resources you need, the more calories you need etc.

Is it that clever to breed bigger and bigger? Or maybe you think the big ones can kill the little ones and have their food as well.

We're definitely not as smart as we think we are, but who's saying bigger or taller is better in the first place? Do you mean women selecting men to date, as you mention breeding?

If so, it doesn't have to be better - it would just be a combination of natural and sexual selection for whatever unknown reasons.. e.g. bigger tends to indicate stronger, so (in animals) they tend to live longer, so over time, due to the larger ones ability to breed for longer, the genes for smaller would be reduced in their frequency in the population.
And if women like bigger, that's the sexual selection in operation, so the smaller men get selected less frequently, mate less, so you're left with bigger men.

 

[_Jonesy]

It's just the nature of attraction. Female shapes suggest fertility, which is attractive on a deeper level. The female wants someone who can provide for or 'protect' the young and that is why it is desirable to be bigger etc.

In truth, there is no real requirement for this. I'm tall, I have legroom issues when I travel. On the other hand, I can reach higher and farther than most, and possibly have the potential to be stronger.

As for how smart we are, we are the smartest creatures to have ever graced this Earth. The dinosaurs had millions of years to get into space and we have only had thousands, yet look what we have achieved. With that said, only about 5% of humans that have ever existed are this intelligent, and there is a huge potential we are small-fry in comparison to some organisms in the Universe.

But we have the potential.

...If we were to kill off all those who were seen as weak/unintelligent/evil we could potentially be left with a utopia but that won't be balanced and therefore will probably never work. We cannot resist our nature, we cannot really control who we find attractive.

 

[798686]

Rich and good-looking = good.
Ugly or poor = wicked.

Everyone knows this. :wink: :biggrin1:

 

[Gillette]

Or maybe you think the big ones can kill the little ones and have their food as well.

Yup, that's about the size of it. Watch any nature program involving predators and watch them fight over a kill.

In some species of sharks that give birth to live young it's been shown that the larger pups will kill and eat their siblings in utero. YouTube - Shark eats siblings in womb!

Size can also be a product of aggression. Animals fight not only for breeding rights but also for feeding order. Aggression can help win fights, the animal gets to feed until it's full, it's body has the better resources to grow or maintain it's size, which in turn helps it to continue winning fights for food in future.

For a non predatory example, giraffes with longer necks were able to reach leaves that were higher in the trees, meaning they had less competition for resources, were better fed and better able to maintain their full strength and mass.

Come mating time where fights for mating rights occur the better fed individual is better able to win and for cases where it's about the female's choice of mate being better fed is a visual cue of success to the females.

In nature size substitutes for the expensive car.

"Cor, 'e's done well for 'imself, in't 'e!"

 

[D_Crystallized Ginger]

Yup, that's about the size of it. Watch any nature program involving predators and watch them fight over a kill.

In some species of sharks that give birth to live young it's been shown that the larger pups will kill and eat their siblings in utero. YouTube - Shark eats siblings in womb!

Size can also be a product of aggression. Animals fight not only for breeding rights but also for feeding order. Aggression can help win fights, the animal gets to feed until it's full, it's body has the better resources to grow or maintain it's size, which in turn helps it to continue winning fights for food in future.

For a non predatory example, giraffes with longer necks were able to reach leaves that were higher in the trees, meaning they had less competition for resources, were better fed and better able to maintain their full strength and mass.

Come mating time where fights for mating rights occur the better fed individual is better able to win and for cases where it's about the female's choice of mate being better fed is a visual cue of success to the females.

In nature size substitutes for the expensive car.

"Cor, 'e's done well for 'imself, in't 'e!"

SHOCKING!! I admit I didn't know this fact before altough I'm a fan of discovery channel... so they learn to eat the smaller one very early... again shocking!!

 

[D_Crystallized Ginger]

strange that no poster has yet pointed out that intelligence developed to help the size lack in human kind and within the human kind...

 

[Gillette]

strange that no poster has yet pointed out that intelligence developed to help the size lack in human kind and within the human kind...

Not just humans. Animals that fight have to be smart fighters and animals that hunt have to be cunning hunters. Prey animals have to be genius at eluding predation.

The intelligence just seems more pronounced in humans because the advent of civilization has reduced the predator/prey factors for us.

 

[Drifterwood]

So is being big really an advantage for humans now?

 

[midlifebear]

Well, in worked for Proust.

 

[piledrivenasshole]

I had a lover in college with a huge dick and I've never really gotten over that gooooooood feeling!

 

[D_Tully Tunnelrat]

Humans have never lacked for hubris. Size matters only upon it's intended application. It is not always an indicator of superiority in food gathering, hunting, or fighting. Farmers are not always the biggest, yet often generate the most reliable food sources. In hunting, intelligence matters as much as size, given no man can individually out fight most carnivores without other men or weapons. As to fighting, if you watch the nature shows on pack behavior, often when the wanna be alpha males are sparring, a younger, lesser ram, or wolf is copulating with one of the harem. I can't recall which fish it is, but the mating behavior is such that the female, although attracted to the larger male, will copulate with the smaller male at the same time the larger male is courting her. He slips in under the larger males radar. In humans, we come in all shapes and sizes for a reason - one size does not fit all, nor does a larger size make one a better lover. Given that humans have adapted to almost any environment, via structure, rather than evolution, the preponderance of any evolutionary physical trait is becoming secondary to the mental ability to work within the group.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

... only about 5% of humans that have ever existed are this intelligent, and there is a huge potential we are small-fry in comparison to some organisms in the Universe.

How do you know?

strange that no poster has yet pointed out that intelligence developed to help the size lack in human kind and within the human kind...

This suggests that evolution has a purpose. Does it? Or is it simply what happens as given traits confer survival advantages to creatures?

The intelligence just seems more pronounced in humans because the advent of civilization has reduced the predator/prey factors for us.

Are you saying we're not in actual fact vastly more intelligent than any other animal?

Well, it worked for Proust.

Length and thickness gave his novels a survival advantage? Hmmm. Could be true.

 

[mexdude]

Actually in humans being larger in body size is a huge disadvantage, since it does need more energy to move, more water, and the real issue is at old age, i once saw on the discovery channel that tall people will have more problems in average when they get old, the reason?, the taller u are, the old you get, your bones are weaker, mass plus height = huge hit when the "fall to the ground" happens, its not "if" its a "when", and a 5 foot person will hold that inevitable fall much better

 

[B_Nicodemous]

Not just that, Mexdude, but the strain on a human heart increases dramatically with seriously tall people. This is also true of giant breds of dos. You don't see 19 year old Great Danes for a reason. Increased risk of heart faliure is prety much a given, all other factors equal.

 

[silky73]

I think I need to go watch some animal planet, discovery channel and Dr. G in order to contribute to this thread!!!

But, I do have a question - is the author of this thread talking about a big fat body or a big fat penis??? not very clear! lol

 

[Drifterwood]

Definitely not intended to be about cocks, Silky.

I was reading some history in which population growth was being discussed, and together with current concerns in rising food costs and food security issues, I was just wondering what would happen if we ever had a food rationing situation like in WWII in the UK. 2000 calories a day wouldn't be very clever if you are six five and 250 pounds.

People have pointed out several disadvantages of being tall and big, yet many people see this as being very important. I just wonder if it's that clever to breed for big when this could become a serious survival disadvantege.