5 ms·

Not challenging your point, just curious...do you know of any (non-human) animals that have harnessed fire? I don't mean in an "environmental" way, like lookin

by dstorrs 17y ago

Not challenging your point, just curious...do you know of any (non-human) animals that have harnessed fire? I don't mean in an "environmental" way, like looking for food along the edges of a burn, or having IR-sensitive vision, I mean actually collecting it, containing it, using it as a tool. Or is that a uniquely human trait?

btilly 17y ago
To the best of my knowledge that is a uniquely human trait. And we not only harness it - we are dependent on it. Over time our digestive systems have adapted to require cooked food. (Every known culture cooks food. Theoretically you can live on uncooked food. However the few who try it have to eat constantly and tend to be skinny...)
- jacquesm 17y ago
  What's wrong with being skinny ? I can see the point of not having to eat constantly, but if skinny is one end of the spectrum and overweight is the other I'd rather be skinny.
  - rosser 17y ago
    As a skinny fellow, I tend to agree -- or, rather, my metabolism agrees for me. Counter-point, though: consider the "obesity paradox". Statistically, obesity correlates massively more positively with survival in the face of catastrophic illness (cancer, &c) than for folks with a normal-ish BMI, let alone the scrawny ones. It's probably a less "selective" (in the evolutionary sense) trait than it might be, in that cancer tends to be an ailment associated with at least somewhat advanced age, a time by which most people who are going to will likely have bred.
  - btilly 17y ago
    Nothing is wrong with being skinny. However if you live in a culture with virtually unlimited food available, are eating constantly, and can't add weight, then that suggests you aren't meeting your nutritional requirements. The reason, of course, is that our guts are adapted to pre-processed food, and so are shorter. Therefore unless you get some cooked nutrition, it is very hard to get enough food. It is possible, some people do it, but it is hard.
    - lg 17y ago
      Depends... "Eskimo" means "eaters of raw meat."

by dstorrs 17y ago

btilly 17y ago

To the best of my knowledge that is a uniquely human trait. And we not only harness it - we are dependent on it. Over time our digestive systems have adapted to require cooked food. (Every known culture cooks food. Theoretically you can live on uncooked food. However the few who try it have to eat constantly and tend to be skinny...)

jacquesm 17y ago
What's wrong with being skinny ? I can see the point of not having to eat constantly, but if skinny is one end of the spectrum and overweight is the other I'd rather be skinny.
- rosser 17y ago
  As a skinny fellow, I tend to agree -- or, rather, my metabolism agrees for me. Counter-point, though: consider the "obesity paradox". Statistically, obesity correlates massively more positively with survival in the face of catastrophic illness (cancer, &c) than for folks with a normal-ish BMI, let alone the scrawny ones. It's probably a less "selective" (in the evolutionary sense) trait than it might be, in that cancer tends to be an ailment associated with at least somewhat advanced age, a time by which most people who are going to will likely have bred.
- btilly 17y ago
  Nothing is wrong with being skinny. However if you live in a culture with virtually unlimited food available, are eating constantly, and can't add weight, then that suggests you aren't meeting your nutritional requirements. The reason, of course, is that our guts are adapted to pre-processed food, and so are shorter. Therefore unless you get some cooked nutrition, it is very hard to get enough food. It is possible, some people do it, but it is hard.
  - lg 17y ago
    Depends... "Eskimo" means "eaters of raw meat."