Jim, Proposed Anthropology study
I'm recommending that an anthropologist study an SI thread. It appears to me it may mirror in greatly condensed version the evolution of species. One of the areas anthropologist's study, (excerpted from a noted scientists presentation):
<<Primate social behaviour
So what sort of behaviours do we see in primates?
Dominance
Primates, as (mostly) group living animals tend to form what are known as
"dominance hierarchies". Animals higher in the hierarchy tend to displace
lower ranked individuals from resources (mates, space, food). They tend to
have higher reproductive success (either by mating more often, or by having
more resources to invest in their offspring). The hierarchy is not fixed and
depends on a number of changing factors (age, sex, aggression, intelligence
perhaps), and may also depend on the support of others.......... >>
Seem's to me the Alpha bull in a gorilla family achieves that position through bullying, chest pounding, (while jumping up and down and screeching profanity). By denying space and bullying he forces many family members that don't concede his position to disappear over time.
Seeking a similar position lower in the hierarchy, many of the weaker family members tend to mimic the actions of the Alpha bull. Through evolution I think this results in the elimination of more docile traits in the family.
Took millennium's for Primates, but only a couple years on SI. ;-) |
