Re: On good authority...

Depends on what your definition of "normal" is ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Jim Thompson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I consider homos to be mentally ill,like the psychologists used to believe before the Politically Correct Socialists took over. ABnormal.

Abby Normal ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

It must have a biological function, or evolution would have disappeared it a zillion years ago.

John

John Larkin wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

How does evolution affect individual mental illness?

It certainly prevents the reproduction of mentally defective individuals ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Perhaps not. It could be a side effect of something else that does a lot of good and do no harm. To make your point, however, it may be true that having members of the group who do not reproduce helps to provide for the offspring of those who do.

innews: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

If 50% of your offspring are insane, your genes are less likely to be carried into future generations.

Right. You'd think that a characteristic that prevents reproduction would be bred out of the population pronto. What's interesting is that humans have probably been fairly polygamous throughout our evolution, and the male:female birth ratio is essentially 1:1, so some males are destined to never breed. But like maiden aunts, they may still contribute to the survival of relatives.

Somebody should figure this out.

John

Abby Moral.

If I father 2 children, then maybe you have a point. If I father 20 children, your argument starts to fall apart.

eve

=EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF= =BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD...Jim Thompson

Adult Stoplight Parrot Fish can switch sex from male to female and vice-versa. Ditto with Flounder, and several other fish (or so I am told).

I think we just need to isloate that gene, and then inject into all the drag queens. That should fix everything.

Having 20 kids would make you insane!

John

My argument still works just fine for 20 children. If 17 of your 20 children, on the average will, die before reproducing having 50% of your children being insane still makes your DNA unlikely to be around in a couple of generations. Creatures with death rates for their offspring often compensate with having large numbers of offspring.

When humans try to overwelm the odds by having many children, they have to spread the support among them. Human children take a lot of raising so it put each one at a disadvantage when this is dine.

Ah, but which is the cause and which the effect?

Yeah, but then, there are plenty of children raised today with one or zero parents, and they survive just fine.

A child doesn't have to be raised *well* to survive. No, that child may not end up very smart... but what lacks in personal intelligence is made up for by the rest of society.

Tim

-- Deep Fryer: A very philosophical monk. Website @

They do survive but they do have a shorter life expectancy and a higher death rate.

I child that ends up locked up in jail from 18 to 48 years of age may not produce any children. One who is killed before reproducing certainly won't. Non-smart folks tend to get themselves killed or thrown in jail more often.

I guess my point is:

If I father 20 children, and 50% of them are insane, then by definition 10 of them are not insane. Therefore, contrary to your conclusion, I would have an excellent chance of passing on my genes to future generations. Even more so than the "average" individual, since "most" individuals do not father

Seems pretty solid to me. What's with the 17/20? Guess I don't follow your logic?

-mpm

Sure, if the goal is more ugly women no one wants to touch! :(