HUMAN VARIATION AND RACE

1. Heat is an environmental stress that negatively impacts the survival of humans by disturbing homeostasis. Extreme Heat can lead to death if someone (human) is in direct contact with it for a long time. This kind of exposure can have consequences like heatstroke, that occurs when the body temperature rises to 104 F or higher. Also, dehydration can occur, that is, when a good amount of fluid is coming out of the body (sweating) and it’s not been replaced with water intake, this can also lead to death. Heat exhaustion is another result of the body overheating, and is identifiable by heavy sweating, rapid pulse, dizziness, fatigue, cool, moist skin with goose bumps when in the heat, muscle cramps, nausea and headache.

 
2. Short term Adaptation: sweating would be a short term adaptation to heat. Sweat releases heat and cools down the body through evaporative cooling.

Facultative Adaptation: Vasodilatation would be a facultative adaptation to heat. Swelling of blood vessels increases the amount of heat carried by the blood to the skin, allowing the excess heat to be expelled from the body.

Developmental Adaptation: Bipedalism would be a developmental adaptation to heat. This is an adaptation to efficiently cool the body in hot temperatures. In a hot places a tall, lean upright posture exposes less surface area to the sun. It also promotes heat loss by exposing the greatest amount of surface area to cooling winds and air.

Cultural Adaptation: Air conditioner would be a cultural adaptation to heat. People using air conditioner at work, home, cars, malls etc, have found a way to not just beat the heat, but to prevent the consequences the heat brings with when the body temperature goes up. 

3. The benefits of studying human variation in this way, is that by observing the changes in some populations over time, we can evaluate the environmental stressors that can affect any of them. If we take one population with one specific trait and move them to another environment, one different than where they were born, we would see how this group adapts to the new environment. A good example is studying groups with sickle cell anemia which is mostly present in black populations, try to find treatments and and maybe a cure, this will help also other people with sickle cell anemia, not just the population studied. 

4. I could not use race to understand the variation of the adaptations, because all humans have the capacity to adapt to new environments, maybe each one will do it differently, and that would be the interesting part to study. For example, there could be people that sweat more than others, hence they have more probability to get dehydrate faster than someone that does not sweat that much.

We already know we all come from a common ancestor and that our physical differences vary depend on the environment we live in. I think Is better to study the human variation through the environmental influences to recognized that race has no genetic basis, and that we are among the most similar of all species.  

LANGUAGE BLOG

Doing this experiment, where I could not speak, write or ASL (which I don’t know), I found really hard to communicate with my friends, I told them what was it about, and when they agreed and stared talking, it was really hard for me to not say something, to stay all quiet unable to speak. We found that the easiest way to communicate was making simple questions where I could respond yes or not with my head, but I was not being part of the conversation all the time. They compared this experiment with those kind of table games when you get a card with a phrase and you have to mimic it.

My friends were in control of the conversation all the time, I was not able to make any questions, I literally just answered if they asked me something. We were taking breakfast, so we were catching up about what we did last week and it was very frustrating because I did not how to explain for example that my oldest daughter has been having tantrums every time we get out of the house. So for sure they excluded me of the conversation a couple of times. They had a complete power this time.

When we talk about cultures, I really think that the speaking culture will be in advantage comparing with the culture that communicate through symbolic language. The quality of information somebody gets from a speaking person is way more complete, complex, and in a faster way. Although, I also believe that if there is a community that just use symbolic language they could be as efficient as the speaking people, but just within their boundaries, within their community, otherwise they would be behind everyone.  Society’s evolution requires people to move faster than before, that’s why spoken language I think it’s the principle way to communicate.  I believe a good example would be comparing any spoken languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese etc) with indigenous language. They have a complete different culture and speak their own language, but also live almost isolated, and have their own rules, manners, and different ways to live life.          

The second part of this experiment was worst for me, because I am very expressive when I am speaking with someone, I make a lot of gestures and I use my hands a lot, my husband makes fun of me because of this. Continuing with the assignment, it was easy because I could at least talk to them, but they mentioned that I looked bored, sad, or like I was not paying attention or interested in the conversation at all. They also told me that my attitude could be easily mistaken for someone that has any kind of persona disorder.

I think this experiment proves that signs in our language is very important, communication as a whole has to have spoken and body language to really transmit what you mean. An easy example: you can say you are very happy, but if your body language is not showing that, people would be confused. To really understand the mood of people we need body language. Actually, you can know what’s happening to someone just watching he/she act.    

When someone knows how to read body language is because that person is very sensitive and is always looking around, like watching what is happening. I have a situation that fits here perfectly. I went to the park with my daughters like 2 weeks ago, there were a couple of kids, mommies and daddies. Suddenly there is a guy dressed like we were in summer, with shorts, tank top and barefoot; and had a small dog. He stared to do some pushups too close to a stroller that was left alone, but I think he noticed I was watching him. Then he moved a bit away of the stroller and stared stretching.  I instantly put my daughters on the swings because I felt something was wrong with this guy, and it was not just me, I noticed the other mommies stared to called the kids to be close to them. Five minutes later everyone stared to leave. So I really think we have to be aware and always be alert of everyone around us, nobody talked to this guy that day, but sure everyone felt something was not right with him, and all because his body language. So body language can help a person survive, obtain resources, and reproduce successfully, because that is every person presentation card, that is the way to transmit what you are, your essence.

Maybe people that have any kind of disability, they are also susceptible to know how to properly used their body language. When I was in high school I volunteer every Sunday for a couple for months to take care of some kids, while their parents were taking classes. (catholic high school). There was a kid that I thing had down syndrome, but she did not look like it. She was very strong, and sometimes she was so happy about something that she stared to bother the other kids. Like she was too excited about something she did, but she did not know to manage that excitement. I always tried to talk to her, calm her down, and start playing again. If someone else would have passed by that classroom when she was acting like that with the kids, it could have easily been confused as if something else was happening.                 

PILTDOWN MAN

1.   In 1912 near an English town, was a little village called Piltdown, where Charles Dawson an amateur archaeologist stared digging in a gravel pitch and claimed he found a piece of an ancient human skull. After this discovery Dawson invited geologist Arthur Smith Woodward of the natural history museum to join him at Piltdown. They found fossils that seemed to be one million years old. The scientist community remained skeptic, because scientists had discovered the remains of primitive humans in France, Germany, and Asia but none in England. Charles Dawson found the most astonishing fossil of all a jawbone apparently part of the same skull. The jawbone they found did not look human, it was very much like the jawbone of an ape. So they thought they had found a new specie that connected apes and humans directly. Woodward was who made the announcement of their discovery, scientists were more than happy to know about the new evidence of what could had been the oldest of all the ancient human fossils ever found. Newspapers called it “Piltdown man.” Because of Woodward prestige no one doubted about the veracity of the discovery, though he specialized in fish fossils. Arthur Keith, an England anatomist was also a supporter of the new discovery, because it backed up his personal theory of human evolution, that was humans developed big brains before they walked upright. But scientist know nowadays that the opposite is true, upright walking developed long before the big brain. For the next decade the model of Piltdown man dominated research of human evolution, even though no more fossils turned up after Charles Dawson died in nineteen sixteen. It was not until scientist stared finding new fossils in Asia and Africa that they noticed those new remains did not match with Piltdown fossils. The new finds came from human ancestors that live hundreds of thousands of years after Piltdown man. It was hard to know if there was a misunderstanding because todays lab tests including dating methods did not yet exist.

2.   To me the biggest human fault here was the intention of wanting recognition without having into account the consequences those actions could bring with. Charles Dawson was a very ambitious man and wanted to be a fellow of the royal society. Scientists were skeptic for some time until they could make some tests on the Piltdown fossils, but in those times technology was not as advance as it is today, so it was until almost 45 years later they realized it was a hoax.  

3.   After World War II, taking advantage of new technology by       measuring the fluorine content of fossils scientists could roughly date them. In 1949 scientists conducted a test on the Piltdown fossils and found that the remains were rather younger. In 1953 scientists launched the first full scale analysis with better dating methods, and found that the stain on the bones were superficial, they had been stained, the fossils were probably cut, the teeth were altered giving them a desired shape, the jawbone dated back less than 100 years and it came from a female orangutan. The conclusion, someone had forged the Piltdown fossils.

4.   I don’t think the human factor should be removed from science, as it was stated above, scientists are curious, creative and persistent, and without these characteristics we would not have an idea of what evolution means, we would not have an idea of where we come from and who are our ancestors. I think we would be hundreds of years behind if it was not because of the people that every day works to know how this world function.

5.   Well, my life lesson is not believing in everything you just see, read, or hear, definitively there must be evidence and trustfully sources to approve certain information.