Ten Things We Still Don't Understand About Humans 397
ParticleGirl writes "New Scientist has an article examining 10 human features (bugs?) that we still don't understand, like blushing, laughing, and nose-picking. There are some interesting, speculative evolutionary explanations listed for each. '[Psychologist Robert R. Provine] thinks laughing began in our pre-human ancestors as a physiological response to tickling. Modern apes maintain the ancestral 'pant-pant' laugh when they are tickled during play, and this evolved into the human 'ha-ha.' Then, he argues, as our brains got bigger, laughter acquired a powerful social function — to bond people. Indeed, Robin Dunbar at the University of Oxford has found that laughing increases levels of endorphins, our body's natural opiates, which he believes helps to strengthen social relationships.'"
Memes (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Nose picking? (Score:2, Informative)
That's exactly what it is for. As mentioned above, even kids do it instinctively.
The mucus in the nose protects the soft tissue and captures lots of bacteria and other germs. That stuff needs cleaned out every once in a while and blowing your nose can not get all that encrusted stuff out. You want rotting bacteria in your nose?
Re:Or why people still take ... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent is not a flaimbait. NewScientist is definitely "new stupidist" in this article.
For example, it's clear that altruism is generally good for the community (even though it might be detrimental to an individual), thus it makes perfect sense that we've evolved it. Same for blushing.
Etc.
Re:Teenagers? (Score:5, Informative)
link [johntaylorgatto.com]
Some Seem Obvious (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Nose picking? (Score:5, Informative)
And it dislodges whatever blowing your nose couldn't.
This one morning... I had one of those hard, pointy bits of dried mucus in my nose, I had to pull it out, the poking was painful. It was firmly glued to the side of my nose, and I ended up pulling out a long strand that felt like it had been filling up a sinus cavity all the way across my cheekbone. It felt like my head was 5 pounds lighter after that! It was magical, I tell you.
Re:Or why people still take ... (Score:0, Informative)
I would like to point out, from altruistic motivations, that the word is "flamebait", not "flaimbait" [google.com].
I apologize for any detrimental impact that this may have upon you as an individual.
Re:Nose picking? (Score:5, Informative)
I think the author equates nose picking with eating one's boogers, Mucophagy [wikipedia.org]. I would really like to know why people do THAT.
As for nose-picking itself, since humans are dry-nosed primates, drying of mucus in the nose is natural and cleaning it out is as well.
Re:Nose picking? (Score:3, Informative)
boogers (there must be a technical term, please enlighten me)
Dried nasal mucus [wikipedia.org]
Re:I think we know more than this. (Score:3, Informative)
The currently popular theory of kissing's adaptive nature holds that [bbc.co.uk] kissing is a way to exchange (biochemical) information about hormone levels and immune system types, and also promotes emotional attachment towards pair bonding.
Re:Kissing = human variant of "pout face" (Score:3, Informative)
Kissing is not a solely human trait; many of our closest relatives [scienceblogs.com] also engage in kissing behavior. It's a trait we share with several other species of apes [wildlifedirect.org].
Laughter is pissantly easy to explain. (Score:3, Informative)
Laughter increases the feeling of mirth in people who hear it.
Mirth itself is harder to explain, but it appears to serve a number of purposes, from a defense mechanism against hopelessness to stress relief to social reinforcement (teasing, mocking).
Re:Nose picking? (Score:5, Informative)
And for some extra nasal bandwidth, try neti [wikipedia.org].
BTW, blowing your nose is a really nasty practice, because is pushes the goo further into your sinuses. Of course, in some social situations it's the only acceptable way :-/
Re:Thank you! (Score:3, Informative)
But they are still teenagers. Most still need parents to pay rent etc. So they are "dependents".
My Grandfather left school (after the war) at 14, and was living on his own at 16 and married at 18. His wife was 16.
Things *are* different from 50 years ago.
Re:debated != "mystery" (Score:4, Informative)
Being the asshole gets you a Pyhrric "victory" in the short term, but being the generous, helpful guy makes your life so much easier in the medium-long term. When the chips are down everyone rallies round to help you. People are also prepared to trust you in ways the asshole couldn't even imagine. People just give you stuff.
Altruism begets altruism. Especially if you genuinely help people out of empathy/compassion rather than expecting something in return. (Most) People can tell when they're being manipulated. I know it's corny but helping people out really is it's own reward. Making people happy is a real buzz. Then you usually get another reward later from their gratitude. Talk about having your cake and eating it. Altruism dumps all over selfishness from a great height. Assholes don't know what they're missing.