Is something wrong with our make up?

[Terrywoodenpic]

Why is it that only man suffers from frostbite? Just about every other animal can put up with freezing temperatures, even walk and sleep on Ice, at least for a reasonable length of time. And not have their hands, feet ears or noses freeze.
And it is not just about having fur or feathers.

Some animals can even shut their processes down and lower their temperature to that of the surroundings and not come to harm..

What have we gained by not being able to withstand these low temperatures?

 

[Hema]

Seriously speaking, when I saw "make up" I thought there were some recent findings on negative side effects of lipstick, mascara etc. Whew, thank God. I must have my lipstick and mascara!

Anyhoo, perhaps prehistoric people were adapted to these climatic conditions. Now, our bodies are adapted to living indoors with temperature control.

Waht have we gained? I didn't gain anything. I've never been in snow ever. I live on a Caribbean island.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Waht have we gained? I didn't gain anything. I've never been in snow ever. I live on a Caribbean island.

Lucky you... The cold kills thousands of people a year in Europe and other countries.
The inuits who have lived in the frozen north since pre history are no better at resisting the cold than we are.

 

[Hema]

Lucky you... The cold kills thousands of people a year in Europe and other countries.
The inuits who have lived in the frozen north since pre history are no better at resisting the cold than we are.

Sometimes the heat can kill too.

Hmm...I think animals can also suffer frostbite such as pets!

 

[doppelganger]

What have we gained by not being able to withstand these low temperatures?

Have you read Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel? Humans stayed out of cold climes until relatively recently, geologically and biologically speaking, because we are not physiologically evolved for it. We only find humans beginning to cross and dwell in the cold, Northern climes after the advent of complex tools such as needles, that allow us to fashion clothing, improve our ability to hunt large game and build more complex living structures. We are in the cold because our technology adapted us to it, not because our physiologydid (except to the extent tool use is an aspect of physiology, but you know what I mean). I don't think there are very many apes that are better suited to cold climates (though there are a few species of monkey that can handle cold climates, and so did Homo Neanderthalis).

 

[Hema]

We are in the cold because our technology adapted us to it, not because our physiology did.

Something to this extent I was trying to say before!

 

[Zeno]

It is because we adapted behaviorally early on. When we got cold we either moved South, made a fire, made warmer clothes, etc. Thus the people who could withstand cold weather better had no advantages over the people who could not.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I think it probably had more to do with where we evolved..... perhaps Africa.
Though I don't see why so many animals have managed to adapt in a similar time scale.
Not all could have adapted in the cold climates.

 

[Papersock]

Why is it that only man suffers from frostbite? Just about every other animal can put up with freezing temperatures, even walk and sleep on Ice, at least for a reasonable length of time. And not have their hands, feet ears or noses freeze.
And it is not just about having fur or feathers.

Some animals can even shut their processes down and lower their temperature to that of the surroundings and not come to harm..

What have we gained by not being able to withstand these low temperatures?

Maybe there's something wrong with a fish's make-up because if you put them on dry land they die.

We simply did not develop for surviving in freezing weather. Even if we have to, we have the ingenuity to creat warm clothing for ourselves, so we don't have any reason to develop to survive in freezing weather.

 

[Listener]

Animals are prone to frostbite like humans. Animals are more proficient at countering it than humans, however.

Animals avoid most frostbite due to feathers, fur and blubber. Take birds for example. They are completely protected except their feet and legs. This is why when it becomes too cold you will see them stand on one leg while pulling the other up inside it's feathers. They can also squat, covering both legs and feet.

Every species have tricks of the trade dealing with cold and frostbite. However, in the end, they can get frostbite just like us.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Maybe there's something wrong with a fish's make-up because if you put them on dry land they die.

We simply did not develop for surviving in freezing weather. Even if we have to, we have the ingenuity to creat warm clothing for ourselves, so we don't have any reason to develop to survive in freezing weather.

A few fish have developed lungs. But there really is little advantage for them to have done so.

Are you saying our intelligence "turned off" our ability to change....
may be it has stopped us advancing in other ways?

 

[Zeno]

A few fish have developed lungs. But there really is little advantage for them to have done so.

Are you saying our intelligence "turned off" our ability to change....
may be it has stopped us advancing in other ways?

Nothing can turn off our ability to change. Our ability to behaviorally adapt to coldness made it unnecessary to evolve to handle the cold like penguins or other animals.

The only reason someone can handle frostbite would pass that characteristic on is if they had a reproductive advantage over humans who could not handle frostbite. But because there was no advantage, it wasn't selected for.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Nothing can turn off our ability to change. Our ability to behaviorally adapt to coldness made it unnecessary to evolve to handle the cold like penguins or other animals.

The only reason someone can handle frostbite would pass that characteristic on is if they had a reproductive advantage over humans who could not handle frostbite. But because there was no advantage, it wasn't selected for.

I would have thought the inuit would have developed some resistance by now, it would have been a distinct advantage for them.

 

[Zeno]

I would have thought the inuit would have developed some resistance by now, it would have been a distinct advantage for them.

I am sure the Inuit have passed down vast amounts of knowledge on how to stay warm and avoid frostbite in the first place. Granted they do live in cold conditions, but they also have generations of knowledge on what furs are the warmest, how to avoid frostbite, and how to properly insulate, and how to use fire to their advantage.

Also, just because something is a survival advantage does not mean it is a reproductive advantage. Even if the ones who were less susceptible to frostbite lived longer, it doesn't mean that the opposite sex found them more appealing, or that they had more offspring.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I have only met one inuit woman... she was intelligent and friendly however she would definitely have been a very acquired taste as a partner.

They seem to have had no trouble in acquiring other survival characteristics in their body shape and faces.

 

[Papersock]

A few fish have developed lungs. But there really is little advantage for them to have done so.

That's exactly what I meant

Are you saying our intelligence "turned off" our ability to change....
may be it has stopped us advancing in other ways?

I've heard that our use of midwifes and modern medical methods of child birth has kept us from developing better birthing bodies. They may not be a terrible thing, though, since the only way for that to happen is for the bad-birthers to die.
Nature is cruel

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I think it's due to warm clothes, warm homes, warm showers, and other sources of heat that make having to force ourselves to adapt obsolete.

 

[lillitruthseeker]

i wonder if eskimos or people in really cold climates like iceland or someplace have adapted better bodies for being in the cold temps

 

[jtartar]

Why is it that only man suffers from frostbite? Just about every other animal can put up with freezing temperatures, even walk and sleep on Ice, at least for a reasonable length of time. And not have their hands, feet ears or noses freeze.
And it is not just about having fur or feathers.

Some animals can even shut their processes down and lower their temperature to that of the surroundings and not come to harm..

Terrywoodenpic,
God created man with a brain much greater than animals. Even though some animals posses atributes that are greater than ours, such as sight, strength, speed, and even longer life, man was created far superior, overall. Man has the ability to adapt to conditions that no other animal has. Because of man's superior intellectual capacity he is able to live in almost any place on earth. Animals cannot do this. Many animals die because of just a small increase or decrease in temperature.
God's cardinal atributes are Justice, Wisdom Power,and Love. These atributes He has placed in man, even though in a very limited amount compared with Him. Because of these atributes man can adapt to many situations that other animals cannot. We definitely are not inferior to any of God's animal creation.

 

[sandandfoam]

.
God's cardinal atributes are Justice, Wisdom Power,and Love. These atributes He has placed in man, even though in a very limited amount compared with Him. Because of these atributes man can adapt to many situations that other animals cannot. We definitely are not inferior to any of God's animal creation.

If I was dropped out of a plane right next to a seagull we wouldn't be long discovering which of us is superior !