Human

Capt'n Midnight

This http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/2004/11/P40/ reminded me of an old question.

What animan can walk 20 miles and then run a mile, swim a river and then climb a tree ? The answer is that humans rather than being just versatile are actually very good at long distance running. The Bushmen (Ray Meers) ran down antelope in the Kalahari. My Uncle told me of Aboroginies in oz who could run down kangeroos, and they hop because it's the most energy efficeient way of getting from A to B. Even amongst us sedantry westerners the average person can run a marathon with a bit of training. So rather than being the underdog on the ancient savanah were probably one of the top preditors..

So apart from our Brain and our long distance running what else could make us fit to survive ??

Kevin_rc_ie

reasonable hearing, and sight.
ability to communicate. especially verbally/orally. and thus the ability to form society.
opposable digits in our hands. hands full stop.

Capt'n Midnight

Our hearing is bad compared to the better animals. Birds can hear way lower frequencies than we can, and most carnivores can hear way higher frequencies and have much better directionality.

For sight we have wide binocular vision and resonable color. Sharks and cats have reflective linings to increase low light. Squid have the nerves at the back of the eye so have no blind spot. Bees can see in the ultraviolet and birds have vision much sharper than ours.

Our hands are good but gibbons have much more flexible wrists. But hands means we can carry food back to the family/tribe or much later on carry gourds of water for cooling while hunting. And of course we can throw things just like chimps for that action at a distance advantage with critters you don't want to get to close too.

As for diet most monkeys can eat stuff that is poisonous to apes. Even some baboons can eat grass ! So we aren't as omniverous as our near relatives which limits the ecological niches we occupy.

Male humans are the only animals that suffer from a certain type of hernia

John

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Our hearing is bad compared to the better animals. Birds can hear way lower frequencies than we can, and most carnivores can hear way higher frequencies and have much better directionality.

Number one, there is no such thing as a better animal. That sort of thinking is counterproductive. Animals simply are, it's not like Top Trumps .

The human ear has evolved to be most efficient at middle frequencies because they are the frequencies most useful to us, i.e. speech. We don't need specialised hearing.

For sight we have wide binocular vision and resonable color. Sharks and cats have reflective linings to increase low light. Squid have the nerves at the back of the eye so have no blind spot. Bees can see in the ultraviolet and birds have vision much sharper than ours.

They all have those adaptations because that's what works for them. Bees can see ultraviolet light but they can't see red.

As for diet most monkeys can eat stuff that is poisonous to apes. Even some baboons can eat grass ! So we aren't as omniverous as our near relatives which limits the ecological niches we occupy.

We eat what we are able to digest, we are always limited to one niche.

Male humans are the only animals that suffer from hernias

You calling my granny a man?

Capt'n Midnight

John2 wrote:

Number one, there is no such thing as a better animal. That sort of thinking is counterproductive. Animals simply are, it's not like Top Trumps .

I'm just speculating if anything makes us different apart from intelligence as the common image of our ancestors before they used tools/fire was of prey animals.

We eat what we are able to digest, we are always limited to one niche.

Though it would be nice if we could choose more, but even if we could eat grass there would still be a shortage due to politics.

You calling my granny a man?

Sorry forgot to add in the word inguinal had thought that there was specific type of hernia that only occurs in men where the intestine drops into the scrotum. But according to the interweb it looks like females have an inguinal canal too.

Of course all of this shows we wern't designed.

DrIndy

Humans are perfectly adapted for the niche which we fill, we don't need to eat grass because we eat the things that eat the grass served up with a bun and the requisite "Do you want fries with that?".

Humans are smart too and that is what has made us the ultimate top predator and dominated the entire biosphere, in contrast with our superior brain and social functioning, the rest is less relevant......