From: zeborah@gmail.com   
      
   Gerry Quinn  wrote:   
      
   > In article ,   
   > aqua@internode.on.net says...   
   > > Gerry Quinn wrote:   
   > >   
   > > > There is an ironic counterpoint to this in that those claiming that   
   > > > racial and gender differences don't exist are effectively denying that   
   > > > evolution has been operating over the last half a million years or so,   
   > > > or at least claiming that it has been edxtraordinarily selective   
   > > > regarding what physiological variables it has permitted itself to   
   > > > operate on.  Thus these evolution-deniers have much in common with the   
   > > > intelligent-designers, although their arguments are less coherent.   
   > >   
   > > Of course evolution has been operating over the last half-million years   
   > > or so.  It's just that that's not a terribly long time, and natural   
   > > selection has had to be working hard making sure our bodies could be   
   > > modified for walking upright, large brains, and the attendant   
   > > complication around giving birth the combination requires.  If you look   
   > > at the knee, the lower spine, the female elbow, etc you discover   
   > > evolution didn't even get far enough to come up with very good solutions.   
   >   
   > I don't know any reason why the hard work of natural selection in one   
   > sphere should prevent it from operating in others.   
      
   Selection generally happens for a reason.  Sickle-cell becomes more   
   prevalent where not having the gene is worse than having the gene twice.   
   I can't think of any reason why one geographic area would favour people   
   who were less intelligent; nor any reason why being less intelligent   
   would be an evolutionary advantage for either women or for men.   
      
   It seems to me that more intelligence would be an advantage equally for   
   people of all genders and skin colours, and that therefore if there has   
   been time in the last few hundred years for significant evolutionary   
   pressure to affect intelligence, that it would do so pretty much   
   equally.   
      
   >I will also note   
   > that while humans have indeed developed large brains, the actual size   
   > varies between individuals, and the average size varies with gender and   
   > lineage.  Which is exactly what one would expect; even if evolutionary   
   > pressures were everywhere identical, the results of evolution would not   
   > be.  Not all people living in the tropics are black as coal, not all   
   > those living in colder climes are pale as snow.  There seems no obvious   
   > evolutionary driver that makes Pygmies small or Maoris large.   
      
   Maori on the whole aren't that large.  About average, I should say.   
   ( Using Europeans as my yardstick for 'average'.)   
   Larger than Pygmies, I grant.   
      
   Zeborah   
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