avatarDebra Davis

Summary

The web content presents a critical reflection on an anthropology class, questioning the teacher's statements on gender strength, racial skin color changes, and evolution, alongside public opinions and misconceptions about these topics.

Abstract

The article recounts a personal experience with an anthropology class that sparked skepticism in the author. The teacher's claims about the physical strength of women compared to men, the skin color changes in African Americans, and the interpretation of Darwin's theory of evolution were met with incredulity. The author further explores these topics by consulting Google and finding a range of public comments, from those mocking Glenn Beck's understanding of evolution to others discussing the possibility of human-chimp hybrids and the validity of "feathered" dinosaurs. The article concludes with a promotional note for Medium membership and an AI service called ZAI.chat.

Opinions

  • The author disagrees with the anthropology teacher's assertion that women are as physically strong as men, believing it to be contrary to observed physical capabilities.
  • The teacher's explanation for lighter skin in African Americans is dismissed, with the author asserting that racial mixing is the cause rather than environmental adaptation.
  • The author questions the teacher's interpretation of Darwin's theory of evolution, particularly the idea that African Americans and women have smaller brains than white men.
  • Public opinions on evolution vary, with some individuals, like Glenn Beck, rejecting the theory due to the absence of half-human, half-monkey creatures, while others, like Commenter 5, critique classical Darwinian evolution and suggest alternative theories.
  • Commenters engage in satirical remarks about the possibility of human-chimp hybrids and the search for transitional fossil forms, highlighting skepticism and humor in the discourse around evolution.
  • The article concludes with a promotional plug for Medium membership and the AI service ZAI.chat, positioning it as a cost-effective alternative to ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4).

non-fiction

Anthropology Was Weird.

A Personal Story

photo from Spark creativefabrica by Debra Davis

Anthropology was weird. I really enjoyed the college class, but I didn’t agree with anything the teacher said. She said women were as strong as men.

Now some women are for sure. But not all women. Not most women. Obviously, men are built with more muscular bodies, and in our classroom, I know that no one woman could beat a man in wrestling, or any other kind of physical fight.

Now how could she say women were as strong as men? Her only explanation was that one of her friends could do this and that ( I forgot what this and that was) but she thought she proved her case.

Another thing she said was that African Americans skin was getting whiter because they didn’t live in Africa anymore, when that was obviously not true; They are getting lighter because they are mixing with Caucasians. Duh.

In addition, she talked about Darwin’s theory of evolution and said that people thought Darwin said we came from monkeys, but she said that wasn’t true.

She said we came from fish and in the creation cycle or whatever you call it, the monkeys went one way, and us humans went another.

My teacher also said in Darwin’s theory that African Americans and women had smaller brains than the white man, and of course we all knew that that wasn’t true. But according to her everything else in the theory was true.

Photo by Gaspar Uhas on Unsplash

If evolution was true, our evolving was a gradual changing, not suddenly a monkey had a human baby. Can you see someone having a monkey for a mother?

So, why aren’t there half man-half monkey, or in my case as I was taught half-man and half-fish? That puts a really weird picture in my mind. But at least we would know which was our better half. lol.

And so, I had to ask my friend, Google’s, opinion on the subject. I asked Google “If evolution is true, then why aren’t there half-monkeys, and half man, and I came up with these comments:

Someone said that Glen Beck on his radio show said he didn’t believe in evolution just for that same reason I mentioned. The comments I found were quite amusing and here they are:

Commenter 1. In fairness, Beck is a world class moron. He obviously has no understanding of evolution (we came from ape-like ancestors and are ourselves apes) and probably has no desire to.

Given his target audience, he’ll probably make more money saying things like this.

Commenter 2. Have you ever seen a half-monkey, half-person?” The only ones I have seen are in Congress.

Commenter 3. This is what conservatism has come to ?” No. Should we attribute moronic statements that liberal talking heads make and then ask questions like “This is what liberalism has come to?”

commenter 4. Denial of basic science is embraced widely among Republicans/Conservatives, and often serves as a campaign plank. It isn’t just some nutty thing Glenn Beck says.

commenter 5. He’s right. For Classical Darwinian Evolution, anyway, which is 95 percent wrong. Punctuated Evolution, which highlights the utter idiocy of the “Out of Africa” theory, is another matter. Hominid life didn’t originate in one place. If it did, our ancestors would never have survived the various ice ages. As for what set evolution in motion, my money’s on God, even though I’m agnostic. Science does a pathetic job of explaining anything else and resorts to its own threats, campaigns of character assassination and defense of its dogma when challenged. We’ve seen what happens when you challenge the Church of Science, in the case of global warming. Another of their crackpot “theories.” They’re liars and they viciously and underhandedly attack anyone who demands proof.

(For some reason, I thought it was funny because an agnostic is betting on God)

Commenter 6. Oh, and before anybody gives me that line, “but Africa’s where the fossil record is!”

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Really? You assume because there are older fossils there that there weren’t fossils as old or older elsewhere? Now who’s resorting to junk science and false assumptions?

Flooding, quakes, mountain-building and acidic soil every but Africa couldn’t have wiped out other records, huh?

When I hear this defense, usually applied to the now hopelessly compromised Original Eve DNA theory, I think of the old joke about the drunk looking for his keys: “The light’s much better over here.”

Commenter 7: “Have you ever seen a half-monkey, half-person?” Maybe not yet, but I’m working on it. “Hey there, chimpanzee-babe. Nice dress. Can I buy you a drink?”

Commenter 7: And BTW, on the substance implicit in Beck’s question, there is a horrifying possibility that you could have a human-chimp hybrid. See, Humanzee.

Commenter 8. An ape is half man half monkey.

Commenter 9. Is it too late in the thread to suggest that Beck get a mirror?

Commenter 10. I just got this thought in my head about the first human, er, human ancestor trying to **** itself to procreate, I think we will call it Libdown Man……..

Commenter 11. Remember that ALL life forms were supposed to have gone through the intermediate bird phase.’

Commenter 12. I can’t believe anybody with the slightest grounding in science is still willing to vote Republican. Cognitive dissonance FTW.

Commenter 13. Thanks for the link to the wiki article named Feathered Dinosaurs.” You should have read it before including the link. Also from the entry;

Genuine feathers? There have been claims that the supposed feathers of the Chinese fossils were a preservation artifact. See also, The “Archaeoraptor” fake.

In 1999, a supposed ‘missing link’ fossil of an apparently feathered dinosaur named Archaeoraptor turned out to be a fake

Yeah Sam, “feathered” dinosaurs are so common that National Geographic was burned by the above hoax — they were so anxious to publish “proof” of the intermediate fossil between dinosaurs and birds that it took an independent scientist to discover the fraud. Nice try.

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Evolution
Anthropology
Science
This Happened To Me
History
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