The Evolution and Climactic Case for Racism

[Couasia]

Okay, so according to Google, "racism" is defined as the following:

the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races

Using the bolded part of the definition, we can definitely find support for racism.

• Light-haired, light-eyed, light-skinned Caucasians allegedly hailed from the Caucasus area of Armenia. Due to the heavy clothes that we can surmise they wore to keep warm in the mountains, the sun did not expose their skin, which led to it being lighter in pigmentation. In addition, since mountains do not get very much sunlight, there are preconditions for light eyes. Light eyes are more efficient at collecting light during dawn/dusk periods, allowing Caucasians to see slightly better during those times. Both of these are adaptations that we can presume resulted from a life of living in the mountains and thick forests.

• By contrast, dark-haired, dark-skinned, dark-eyed Africans allegedly hailed from eastern Africa. Due to the high amount of sunlight in that area of the world, their bodies evolved with more efficient sweating systems - including much darker skin containing more melanin - to disperse as much heat as possible and protect skin from damage. Since the scorching, bright sun is present for more hours during the day, the Africans would need some way to filter out excess light that could potentially damage their retinas - hence, dark eyes. Both of these are adaptations that we can presume resulted from living in desert and savannah type subtropical regions.

Of course, there are genetic exceptions to the rule, such as Caucasians with dark eyes or Africans with light hair. However, using this cursory analysis of original human habitats and anthropology, we can see that the human race overall has adapted to a wide variety of conditions, and evolved separate "races" for each specific set of climactic conditions.

What does NSG think of these findings?

[Regnum Dominae]

And of course you completely ignore the "especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races" part of it.

[Couasia]

And of course you completely ignore the "especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races" part of it.

There are rather interesting findings that the US Army found in its combat units. They found that under the same conditions caucasian troops consumed far more water in tropical environments than their colored counterparts. Likewise, colored troops needed more layers of clothing in cold, mountainous conditions than their caucasian brothers-in-arms. That is through no fault of their own, but through the way that they evolved.

[Bombadil]

And of course you completely ignore the "especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races" part of it.

Not per se, he's saying that those with light eyes are inferior to those with dark eyes in bright, sunny conditions.

However, that's not really the point of the definition, so not ignored so much as stretched the definition beyond any useful sense.

[The Serbian Empire]

And of course you completely ignore the "especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races" part of it.

There are rather interesting findings that the US Army found in its combat units. They found that under the same conditions caucasian troops consumed far more water in tropical environments than their colored counterparts. Likewise, colored troops needed more layers of clothing in cold, mountainous conditions than their caucasian brothers-in-arms. That is through no fault of their own, but through the way that they evolved.

Fascinating, but it's probably a topic more suitable for 4chan's /pol/ than for NSG.

[Couasia]

Fascinating, but it's probably a topic more suitable for 4chan's /pol/ than for NSG.

I surmise that with the degree of miscegenation and globalization going on today, we are likely to evolve toward a common 'race' that is a 'jack of all trades, master of none' in a sense.

[The 54th Squadron]

Fascinating, but it's probably a topic more suitable for 4chan's /pol/ than for NSG.

I surmise that with the degree of miscegenation and globalization going on today, we are likely to evolve toward a common 'race' that is a 'jack of all trades, master of none' in a sense.

Hitler tried to make a race once, look how that went.

[Jamjai]

Like how African-Amercians become strong during slavery period

[Adab]

Interesting arguments, OP, but you do not endorse racist behavior, right?

[Bombadil]

I did read an article just the other day about how an aluminium-rich area of Jamaica produces a statistical anomaly in terms of sprinters, including Usain Bolt..

University of the West Indies researchers Rachael Irving and Vilma Charlton discovered that a disproportionate number of Jamaica’s Olympians – including Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell – come from the region containing the island’s aluminium ore deposits. Even more Olympians’ parents were born and raised there. The ACTN3 gene can only make a difference during the first three months of pregnancy when the number of fast twitch muscle fibres is determined. Irving and Charlton’s suspicion is that aluminium in the mother’s diet promotes the gene’s activity. We already know that aluminium in the environment or diet can alter a gene’s creation of certain proteins. Jamaica’s food crops will contain especially high amounts of aluminium when grown in bauxite-rich soil. If that promotes the development of fast-twitch muscle fibres in growing foetuses, that could add to the Jamaican edge.

The truth is, we don’t have enough information to draw firm conclusions about the Jamaican dominance of sprinting. But there is good reason to dig deeper – and it has nothing to do with athletics. We now have evidence that extreme stress, heat, cold, malnutrition and pollution (including tobacco smoke) trigger changes in the way genes are activated or silenced. Long-term studies of populations in various countries have shown that these conditions can induce adverse health effects that cascade down generations. Slavery is likely to be no different.

One of the effects of slavery seems to be a susceptibility to diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular problems. Studies show 35% of all retired Jamaican athletes suffer such afflictions. It’s a similar story in America: nearly half of all African American adults develop some form of cardiovascular disease. According to a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1990, an African American man in Harlem is less likely than a man in Bangladesh to survive to the age of 65.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... alth-games

[Couasia]

Interesting arguments, OP, but you do not endorse racist behavior, right?

No, of course not. I think it says something as to how evolution is a flexible and wonderful thing.

[Sun Wukong]

Okay, so according to Google, "racism" is defined as the following:

the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races

Using the bolded part of the definition, we can definitely find support for racism.

• Light-haired, light-eyed, light-skinned Caucasians allegedly hailed from the Caucasus area of Armenia. Due to the heavy clothes that we can surmise they wore to keep warm in the mountains, the sun did not expose their skin, which led to it being lighter in pigmentation. In addition, since mountains do not get very much sunlight, there are preconditions for light eyes. Light eyes are more efficient at collecting light during dawn/dusk periods, allowing Caucasians to see slightly better during those times. Both of these are adaptations that we can presume resulted from a life of living in the mountains and thick forests.

• By contrast, dark-haired, dark-skinned, dark-eyed Africans allegedly hailed from eastern Africa. Due to the high amount of sunlight in that area of the world, their bodies evolved with more efficient sweating systems - including much darker skin containing more melanin - to disperse as much heat as possible and protect skin from damage. Since the scorching, bright sun is present for more hours during the day, the Africans would need some way to filter out excess light that could potentially damage their retinas - hence, dark eyes. Both of these are adaptations that we can presume resulted from living in desert and savannah type subtropical regions.

Of course, there are genetic exceptions to the rule, such as Caucasians with dark eyes or Africans with light hair. However, using this cursory analysis of original human habitats and anthropology, we can see that the human race overall has adapted to a wide variety of conditions, and evolved separate "races" for each specific set of climactic conditions.

What does NSG think of these findings?

What do I think of this unsourced assertion, much of which I know to be wrong?

That sort of answers itself, don't it?

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Fucking Enlightenment theory of racism is what you just described.

It has been proved wrong and it is also a subject taught only in History of Ideas for a reason. Modern racism stems from this, and we all know by now it is wrong and it was mostly believed because of measurements of the cranium from different humans from different regions in the world.

In fact, Kant makes a very detailed case for racism in some of his articles written for the University he worked for.

[Couasia]

What do I think of this unsourced assertion, much of which I know to be wrong?

That sort of answers itself, don't it?

There is an interesting PBS article on the subject as well.

[Sun Wukong]

What do I think of this unsourced assertion, much of which I know to be wrong?

That sort of answers itself, don't it?

There is an interesting PBS article on the subject as well.

Everyone knows skin color relates to climate. It's not a very profound claim.

It's interesting how everyone trots out one of only three areas in which evolution actually has acted upon humans in the last 40,000 years as though it were indicative of all sorts of other divergences. It's not.

[Imsogone]

And of course you completely ignore the "especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races" part of it.

There are rather interesting findings that the US Army found in its combat units. They found that under the same conditions caucasian troops consumed far more water in tropical environments than their colored counterparts. Likewise, colored troops needed more layers of clothing in cold, mountainous conditions than their caucasian brothers-in-arms. That is through no fault of their own, but through the way that they evolved.

And of course there are other very interesting findings: did you know, for instance, that the environment one was born in has more influence on your ability to withstand that climate than the color of your skin and eyes? Light eyed, light skinned people who were brought up in desert environments are far better adapted to those environments than dark skinned, dark eyed people who were raised in cold, relatively darker climates - and vice-versa.

And then, of course, there are the dark skinned, dark eyed people, known in Canada as "first nations" who range throughout the Americas with little or no superficial physiological difference in spite of climate. Oh, and the olive skinned, dark eyed Asians who live, with little superficial physiological variation, in the varied climates (ranging from desert to jungle to cold, high mountains) of Asia.

Let's not oversimplify things just to make a spurious case about the importance of superficial differences.

[The Serbian Empire]

I did read an article just the other day about how an aluminium-rich area of Jamaica produces a statistical anomaly in terms of sprinters, including Usain Bolt..

University of the West Indies researchers Rachael Irving and Vilma Charlton discovered that a disproportionate number of Jamaica’s Olympians – including Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell – come from the region containing the island’s aluminium ore deposits. Even more Olympians’ parents were born and raised there. The ACTN3 gene can only make a difference during the first three months of pregnancy when the number of fast twitch muscle fibres is determined. Irving and Charlton’s suspicion is that aluminium in the mother’s diet promotes the gene’s activity. We already know that aluminium in the environment or diet can alter a gene’s creation of certain proteins. Jamaica’s food crops will contain especially high amounts of aluminium when grown in bauxite-rich soil. If that promotes the development of fast-twitch muscle fibres in growing foetuses, that could add to the Jamaican edge.

The truth is, we don’t have enough information to draw firm conclusions about the Jamaican dominance of sprinting. But there is good reason to dig deeper – and it has nothing to do with athletics. We now have evidence that extreme stress, heat, cold, malnutrition and pollution (including tobacco smoke) trigger changes in the way genes are activated or silenced. Long-term studies of populations in various countries have shown that these conditions can induce adverse health effects that cascade down generations. Slavery is likely to be no different.

One of the effects of slavery seems to be a susceptibility to diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular problems. Studies show 35% of all retired Jamaican athletes suffer such afflictions. It’s a similar story in America: nearly half of all African American adults develop some form of cardiovascular disease. According to a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1990, an African American man in Harlem is less likely than a man in Bangladesh to survive to the age of 65.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... alth-games

I've also heard things about Owensboro, Kentucky producing an abnormal amount of racing drivers and motorcyclists in a similar fashion to the aluminum rich area of Jamaica produces sprinters. The oddity is that nobody can figure out beyond humans adapting to the unusual topography around Owensboro making roads that curve as the Ohio River is at much lower levels than the surrounding land on the outskirts of town.

[Avenio]

The human 'races' are polyphyletic. They are not distinct taxa, have an enormous amount of internal genetic diversity (dwarfing any outgroup distance) and are most certainly not the sort of subspecies that you're so desperately trying to create.

Moreover, you're making a fundamental mistake that many uneducated about evolutionary biology make when they look at the distribution of phenotypic traits; that all traits observable are selected for or against and have either positively or negatively affect fitness, and that all observed traits were generated by selection. Neither is necessarily true - traits can propagate in a population even if they have no obvious fitness effects due to things like genetic drift.

tl;dr - Try cracking open a biology book that wasn't written before genetics had even been discovered before you decide to go Galton. Please and thank you.

[Margno]

Biologically, you can't define four or five categories that people 's DNA falls into as the idea of race suggests, just a very large number of overlapping categories, more like the idea of ethnicity. There's an order of magnitude more genetic variance within the "races" than between them. That is, the difference between an Italian and the average "white person" is greater than the difference between the average white person and the average black person.

[Ostroeuropa]

There are rather interesting findings that the US Army found in its combat units. They found that under the same conditions caucasian troops consumed far more water in tropical environments than their colored counterparts. Likewise, colored troops needed more layers of clothing in cold, mountainous conditions than their caucasian brothers-in-arms. That is through no fault of their own, but through the way that they evolved.

And of course there are other very interesting findings: did you know, for instance, that the environment one was born in has more influence on your ability to withstand that climate than the color of your skin and eyes? Light eyed, light skinned people who were brought up in desert environments are far better adapted to those environments than dark skinned, dark eyed people who were raised in cold, relatively darker climates - and vice-versa.

And then, of course, there are the dark skinned, dark eyed people, known in Canada as "first nations" who range throughout the Americas with little or no superficial physiological difference in spite of climate. Oh, and the olive skinned, dark eyed Asians who live, with little superficial physiological variation, in the varied climates (ranging from desert to jungle to cold, high mountains) of Asia.

Let's not oversimplify things just to make a spurious case about the importance of superficial differences.

This, pretty much.
There are some vague things you could ascribe to race, but typically there is more difference within a race than between the races.

Some of the things you can ascribe to racial evolution are certain disease immunities. For instance, descendents of middle ages europeans have around a 10% chance of AIDS immunity. (Theorized to be descendents of survivors of some other kind of virus.).
But they inherit that even if they happen to be black. They simply require european middle ages ancestors.

Similarly, northern africans and those who have a deep genetic history in the region tend to be more resistant to malaria, central africans are resitant to yellow fever, etc.

One major reason the conquest of the Americas and Australia were successful is that the populations were largely destroyed (Upward of 90%) by viruses brought over by the europeans. Had the Americas and Australias had their own large numbers of livestock animals, it's quite possible the plagues would have spread both ways on return trips to europe carrying NorthMurkaVirus.
They didn't however, so the Europeans were successful in supplanting the natives.
Colonization efforts were much harder in regions that have a land connection to the World Island or regular trading with it. We didn't show up in China and suddenly most of the Chinese drop dead, so our work was a little harder.

[Couasia]

The human 'races' are polyphyletic. They are not distinct taxa, have an enormous amount of internal genetic diversity (dwarfing any outgroup distance) and are most certainly not the sort of subspecies that you're so desperately trying to create.

Good point.

[Atlanticatia]

Obviously the various races are different in appearance. Nobody is trying to say that people from Kenya look similar to people from Sweden. But that doesn't mean one is superior or inferior to the other, simply because their physical characteristics are different.

[Ostroeuropa]

Obviously the various races are different in appearance. Nobody is trying to say that people from Kenya look similar to people from Sweden. But that doesn't mean one is superior or inferior to the other, simply because their physical characteristics are different.

I'd argue there is probably a case for saying white people are simply superior at surviving in a desolate europe without any civilization on it, given that's what they evolved to do.
Similar cases can be made for the other races.
The problem is, we've kind of built a lot of shit in the meantime, and a lot of our evolved differences are now superfluous.
Oh neat, i've got a skull shape that lets me retain heat better than yours, and my skin is better suited for hiding in snow. This will be majorly useful in an urban environment with regulated heating. Heil the master race.

Silly white person, our skull shapes are obviously better to avoid overheating, and our skin is better for deserts. This is clearly useful in an urban environ-
etc.

It's all fairly localized shit. Only a moron would actually make a case that one race is superior. We're just slightly different. Very slightly.
And usually in ways related to temperature regulation.
How completely and utterly important. We should totally base our perceptions of eachother around that, and not something sane.

[The Serbian Empire]

Obviously the various races are different in appearance. Nobody is trying to say that people from Kenya look similar to people from Sweden. But that doesn't mean one is superior or inferior to the other, simply because their physical characteristics are different.

I'd argue there is probably a case for saying white people are simply superior at surviving in a desolate europe without any civilization on it, given that's what they evolved to do.
Similar cases can be made for the other races.
The problem is, we've kind of built a lot of shit in the meantime, and a lot of our evolved differences are now superfluous.
Oh neat, i've got a skull shape that lets me retain heat better than yours, and my skin is better suited for hiding in snow. This will be majorly useful in an urban environment with regulated heating. Heil the master race.

Silly white person, our skull shapes are obviously better to avoid overheating, and our skin is better for deserts. This is clearly useful in an urban environ-
etc.

Haven't heard of the urban heat island effect?

[Ostroeuropa]

I'd argue there is probably a case for saying white people are simply superior at surviving in a desolate europe without any civilization on it, given that's what they evolved to do.
Similar cases can be made for the other races.
The problem is, we've kind of built a lot of shit in the meantime, and a lot of our evolved differences are now superfluous.
Oh neat, i've got a skull shape that lets me retain heat better than yours, and my skin is better suited for hiding in snow. This will be majorly useful in an urban environment with regulated heating. Heil the master race.

Silly white person, our skull shapes are obviously better to avoid overheating, and our skin is better for deserts. This is clearly useful in an urban environ-
etc.

Haven't heard of the urban heat island effect?

It's negligable, especially with modern technology.

Dietary things are also related to race on occasion. East asians are more likely to be lactose intolerant, because cows are more of a west-world-island thing.