BRAND NEW "EVOLUTION" THREAD

[scootsy]

After watching the video of the Indian being carried away by the tiger, I'd like to get some feedback from everyone. How did humans rise to the top of the evolutionary ladder? No claws, no fangs, no poison... We rose due to our intellectual capacities...

BUT DAMMIT, WE CAN STILL FIGHT!!!

I literally think about this concept at least once a month, constantly revising my list, and forming new strategies. WHICH ANIMALS COULD YOU KILL WITH NO WEAPON OTHER THAN YOUR BODY?

Yes, tigers weigh 500+ pounds with incredible strength, powerful jaws, and sharp claws. But I'm am certain I could kill one. Predators instinctual attack patterns vary. A tigers? They will either (a) overpower you and chomp through your skull, or (b) inflict deep lacerations and wait for you to bleed out. If we weren't so overcome by fear and timidity, what would your plan of attack be? We could claw, we could bite, but we do not have enough blood in our own bodies to last in a fight like that. Or best chance is... suffocation. When the tiger pounces, you will not be able to escape. Too fast, too powerful. So you sacrifice a limb, allow the tiger to grab your arm or leg. Ideally you would be like Moses and have a stick, or staff that could possibly momentarily play the same role. With whatever remaining appendage you have though, you then apply the chokehold. We have some advantage with animals like the cats. Their limbs are relatively short. You can actually get close enough to do this. It becomes more difficult with animals like deer, or moose. But you choke 'em out, and then hope to have some needle and thread around.

Yes evolution was put in quotations as an inflammatory gesture, but really just signified that this thread was only loosely about evolution.

 

[♪alt13]

After watching the video of the Indian being carried away by the tiger, I'd like to get some feedback from everyone. How did humans rise to the top of the evolutionary ladder? No claws, no fangs, no poison... We rose due to our intellectual capacities...

BUT DAMMIT, WE CAN STILL FIGHT!!!

I literally think about this concept at least once a month, constantly revising my list, and forming new strategies. WHICH ANIMALS COULD YOU KILL WITH NO WEAPON OTHER THAN YOUR BODY?

Yes, tigers weigh 500+ pounds with incredible strength, powerful jaws, and sharp claws. But I'm am certain I could kill one. Predators instinctual attack patterns vary. A tigers? They will either (a) overpower you and chomp through your skull, or (b) inflict deep lacerations and wait for you to bleed out. If we weren't so overcome by fear and timidity, what would your plan of attack be? We could claw, we could bite, but we do not have enough blood in our own bodies to last in a fight like that. Or best chance is... suffocation. When the tiger pounces, you will not be able to escape. Too fast, too powerful. So you sacrifice a limb, allow the tiger to grab your arm or leg. Ideally you would be like Moses and have a stick, or staff that could possibly momentarily play the same role. With whatever remaining appendage you have though, you then apply the chokehold. We have some advantage with animals like the cats. Their limbs are relatively short. You can actually get close enough to do this. It becomes more difficult with animals like deer, or moose. But you choke 'em out, and then hope to have some needle and thread around.

Yes evolution was put in quotations as an inflammatory gesture, but really just signified that this thread was only loosely about evolution.

Rofl

You're going to kill a tiger with your bare hands by putting it in a chokehold?

 

[MVP]

We humans know weak points of the animals and we certainly would have a small chance in a fight like that ( choke, going for eyes, throat, etc) . Having said that I would say odds of a man killing a tiger in one on one fight with no weapon of any kind are extremely low. Same goes with cougar or a bear. Heck even leopard or jaguar would be a huge challenge. One poor fishermen in Belarus got killed by a beaver - just shows you how delicate our bodies became. Male chimp would kill human in a matters of seconds.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html

 

[Siro]

We humans know weak points of the animals and we certainly would have a small chance in a fight like that ( choke, going for eyes, throat, etc) . Having said that I would say odds of a man killing a tiger in one on one fight with no weapon of any kind are extremely low. Same goes with cougar or a bear. Heck even leopard or jaguar would be a huge challenge. One poor fishermen in Belarus got killed by a beaver - just shows you how delicate our bodies became. Male chimp would kill human in a matters of seconds.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html

I'm not sure what you mean by "how delicate our bodies have become". Humans simply cannot really handle any large animal in a fight*. This has always been the case, for hundreds of thousands of years (possibly millions). Our evolutionary path traded physical prowess for the infinitely more useful mental ability. With our brain is so far superior to any other animal, the rest of our body might as well be made of cotton candy, and we'd still dominate the planet.

* A well trained fighter can handle some large animals, but being well-trained is only possible because of our mental capacity.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

Have any of you watched the reality show "Naked and Afraid"? I accidentally saw an episode once... and now I can't quit watching it. Virtually every time the male participant starts off bragging about what an amazing hunter he is, and by the end they are so beaten down that he and the woman are celebrating in a huge way if they triumph over an earthworm or a grashopper. They always lose massive amounts of weight during their 21 day adventure because they are literally no match for any of the animals that they face.

The only substantial prey that I have ever seen any of them catch and cook are a couple of big snakes. They sometimes get small fish, crabs, lizards... but not much else. Even mice are way too quick and crafty for these poor people to catch. On one episode they found a dead bird, and they were so starved that they ate it. I've seen them practically kill themselves even trying to get plant based meals. One guy spent days and tons of energy he didn't have chopping down a coconut tree with his knife, only to discover that the coconuts were unripe and inedible. Another guy ate some mushrooms and had a poisonous reaction. There is literally a new disaster every couple of minutes on that show.

Humans are only at the top of the food chain because of their brain, and even that does them little good if they don't have access to the technology that has been developed by other human brains over the millenea. The people on this show are only allowed to bring two pieces of technology with them. One of them almost always brings a blade of some kind, and the other is often a fire starter... but sometimes a pot. These people inevitably suffer like you cannot imagine. They can hardly even move around because lack of shoes fills their feet with thorns. They often become either covered with bug bites, or completely debilitated by sunburn. They get sick and dehydrated because they can't even safely drink water when they are fortunate enough to find it. Watching the difficulties they face, and by extension realizing how incredibly vulnerable humans are, I cannot help but marvel that we have not merely survived, but thrived on virtually every environment this planet has to offer.

BTW, for your poll I selected ant, cockroach and dog, but that assumes the dog was tame so I could get my hands around his neck. I wouldn't have a prayer against a wild dog. Anyone who thinks they have a barehanded chance against anything on that list higher than the dog is completely delusional.

 

[Siro]

Humans are only at the top of the food chain because of their brain, and even that does them little good if they don't have access to the technology that has been developed by other human brains over the millenea. The people on this show are only allowed to bring two pieces of technology with them. One of them almost always brings a blade of some kind, and the other is often a fire starter... but sometimes a pot. These people inevitably suffer like you cannot imagine. They can hardly even move around because lack of shoes fills their feet with thorns. They often become either covered with bug bites, or completely debilitated by sunburn. They get sick and dehydrated because they can't even safely drink water when they are fortunate enough to find it. Watching the difficulties they face, and by extension realizing how incredibly vulnerable humans are, I cannot help but marvel that we have not merely survived, but thrived on virtually every environment this planet has to offer.

IMO, the amazing thing is not simply that the homo branch proved so powerful a paradigm, but that nothing equivalent managed to evolve in more than half a billion years of complex life. Of course, the jury is still out on the long-term survival of a species such as our own. But the potential is mind-boggling. Surely if life only wants to persist, no other life form is potentially more fit. Not even bacteria. I am in a constant state of awe at the fact of our existence.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

IMO, the amazing thing is not simply that the homo branch proved so powerful a paradigm, but that nothing equivalent managed to evolve in more than half a billion years of complex life. Of course, the jury is still out on the long-term survival of a species such as our own. But the potential is mind-boggling. Surely if life only wants to persist, no other life form is potentially more fit. Not even bacteria. I am in a constant state of awe at the fact of our existence.

Maybe the form of life that replaces us will literally be created by us (until they get so powerful that they begin creating themselves). The takeover will be inadvertent as we find ourselves in environments we can no longer survive while our supercomputer assisted robots literally build the adaptations they need.

 

[Gameface]

After watching the video of the Indian being carried away by the tiger, I'd like to get some feedback from everyone. How did humans rise to the top of the evolutionary ladder? No claws, no fangs, no poison... We rose due to our intellectual capacities...

BUT DAMMIT, WE CAN STILL FIGHT!!!

I literally think about this concept at least once a month, constantly revising my list, and forming new strategies. WHICH ANIMALS COULD YOU KILL WITH NO WEAPON OTHER THAN YOUR BODY?

Yes, tigers weigh 500+ pounds with incredible strength, powerful jaws, and sharp claws. But I'm am certain I could kill one. Predators instinctual attack patterns vary. A tigers? They will either (a) overpower you and chomp through your skull, or (b) inflict deep lacerations and wait for you to bleed out. If we weren't so overcome by fear and timidity, what would your plan of attack be? We could claw, we could bite, but we do not have enough blood in our own bodies to last in a fight like that. Or best chance is... suffocation. When the tiger pounces, you will not be able to escape. Too fast, too powerful. So you sacrifice a limb, allow the tiger to grab your arm or leg. Ideally you would be like Moses and have a stick, or staff that could possibly momentarily play the same role. With whatever remaining appendage you have though, you then apply the chokehold. We have some advantage with animals like the cats. Their limbs are relatively short. You can actually get close enough to do this. It becomes more difficult with animals like deer, or moose. But you choke 'em out, and then hope to have some needle and thread around.

Yes evolution was put in quotations as an inflammatory gesture, but really just signified that this thread was only loosely about evolution.

When I was younger I thought a lot about this, too. I think we don't give ourselves enough credit. I think you're exactly right that the paralyzing fear is the biggest problem. Humans are stronger than dogs. What I see when dogs attack a person is that the person immediately assumes a defensive posture, essentially curling up in a ball and begging for mercy. Sure dogs can bite but their claws aren't too big a problem. If you immediately went on the offensive against them I feel like they would be little challenge. Anything would be better than curling up in a ball and hoping for the best.

But Tigers? I'd say no chance there. They are stronger and much bigger than us. They could swat you to the ground and chomp on you until you were dead. With a weapon you might stand a slim chance, but without I say no chance.

 

[Siro]

Maybe the form of life that replaces us will literally be created by us (until they get so powerful that they begin creating themselves). The takeover will be inadvertent as we find ourselves in environments we can no longer survive while our supercomputer assisted robots literally build the adaptations they need.

I find that A.I. scenario somewhat implausible. Let's examine what we mean by artificial intelligence. Arguably, we have already created many forms of super-human intelligences. Computers can beat any human at chess. They are able to remember vast amounts of information perfectly. And they outperform humans in numerous ways (thus technological unemployment). But we don't really consider that "real" intelligence. When we talk about A.I. we're talking about reverse engineering human intelligence. A non-biological human-made being that possesses human like intelligence. For all intents and purposes, that A.I. would simply be "human". As in, the knowledge required to build a human intelligence out of inorganic materials is more or less the same as the knowledge required to transform existing organic intelligences to inorganic ones.

In other words, building a general A.I. can be thought of as building human intelligence through other means. We become the A.I. We replace ourselves with a superior version of ourselves, the same way we've been doing for hundreds of millennia. After all, that's what humans do; replace the processes of biological evolution by the incomparably superior cultural and technological evolution.

 

[[size/HUGE] boobs [/size]]

Rofl

You're going to kill a tiger with your bare hands by putting it in a chokehold?

It is true if you are not girly man. I battled tiger in Siberian Forest and subdued it for domestic uses.

 

[[size/HUGE] boobs [/size]]

In African there used to be clan that send challenger for chief out with spear to kill tiger. They did not want two strong men to weaken clan in battle against each other but to make stronger by killing man hunting beast. Clan chief had option to go on hunt to keep crown for at minimum 1 years time or let challenger try to survive hunt.

 

[slc]

Are there tigers in Africa?

 

[Siro]

Are there tigers in Africa?

You exposed the flaw in that ridiculous story!

 

[[size/HUGE] boobs [/size]]

Are there tigers in Africa?

Sorry my language barrier. I mean lion.

You exposed the flaw in that ridiculous story!

Okay Siro knows everything guys.

It is true the Maasai. New legend is at before circumcise the young men hunt pack on pack. Youtube.com/watch?v=N_4THjDmYJY. You see one man gets mauled.

Old legend is single warrior taking up right to passage to become village chief.

 

[[size/HUGE] boobs [/size]]

You exposed the flaw in that ridiculous story!

You say this because Maasai perform female genital mutilation like the Muslims you hate?

 

[Siro]

Sorry my language barrier. I mean lion.




Okay Siro knows everything guys.

It is true the Maasai. New legend is at before circumcise the young men hunt pack on pack. Youtube.com/watch?v=N_4THjDmYJY. You see one man gets mauled.

Old legend is single warrior taking up right to passage to become village chief.

If there really is a tribe whose chief-selection process involves pitting a man against a ****ing lion, they should be appointed as world government! But I highly doubt it.

 

[Siro]

You say this because Maasai perform female genital mutilation like the Muslims you hate?

Female genital mutilation is not related to Islam. It is mostly an African practice, and some African countries happen to be Muslim.

 

[LogGrad98]

I am reasonably certain I would have no problem with nearly anything up to a dog in size. I am also reasonably certain I could at least disable a cougar or wild cat. No chance at all against anything like a bear or tiger or bigger other than to play dead and hope to have a chance to escape.

 

[slc]

A cougar or wildcat?
Who are you? Davy Crockett?
A mean house cat can inflict a lot of damage.
A hundred pound cougar in all out attack mode would be very formidable.
A man would have no chance against a 40 pound wolverine.

 

[franklin]

I am reasonably certain I would have no problem with nearly anything up to a dog in size. I am also reasonably certain I could at least disable a cougar or wild cat. No chance at all against anything like a bear or tiger or bigger other than to play dead and hope to have a chance to escape.

I thought this until I saw that youtuber of the mountain cat that snapped a ram's neck like it was a twix candy bar. I never want to meat a hungry cougar (pun int).