Not exactly news, but a lot in this article was new to me, so what the heck. Longterm, this line of research might have some pretty significant legal ramifications.
if biologists continue to show that sex is a spectrum, then society and state will have to grapple with the consequences, and work out where and how to draw the line. Many transgender and intersex activists dream of a world where a person's sex or gender is irrelevant. Although some governments are moving in this direction, Greenberg is pessimistic about the prospects of realizing this dream — in the United States, at least. “I think to get rid of gender markers altogether or to allow a third, indeterminate marker, is going to be difficult.”
So if the law requires that a person is male or female, should that sex be assigned by anatomy, hormones, cells or chromosomes, and what should be done if they clash?
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Not exactly news, but a lot in this article was new to me, so what the heck. Longterm, this line of research might have some pretty significant legal ramifications.
I see more that significant legal ramifications involved. This article, in my opinion, raises the critical importance of gaining a better understanding of gender identity. This is fascinating to me because it seems to be a purely social construction. Late in the article, there is an argument made for designating sex according to gender identity:
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"My feeling is that since there is not one biological parameter that takes over every other parameter, at the end of the day, gender identity seems to be the most reasonable parameter," says Vilain. In other words, if you want to know whether someone is male or female, it may be best just to ask.
Can we even imagine a world with more than two genders? What possible precedent can we draw from in order to create a socially realistic reflection of this biological reality? I find it interesting that in the end, it is likely that this fundamental criterion of human identity will remain a social construction.
Could this sort of recognition about the power of gender identity also potentially provide more problematic influence to those who are fundamentally opposed to "non-traditional" models of human sexuality? As I read this—and from a religious perspective—it seems to me that these discoveries tend to undermine the idea that sexual orientation is completely involuntary. What is the process for establishing gender identity in the first place?
On the other hand—and also from a religious perspective—these discoveries also are bound to cause even more problems for "traditional" models of human sexuality, since clearly God did not create a binary gendered species (Gen 1:27 . . . זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם).
This is all really fascinating stuff. Thanks.
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I'm not sure these ideas affect the stance that sexual orientation is involuntary. Remember that gender identification does not inform much about sexual orientation.
The thing about that car ^ is with those wheels sticking out like that, a minor fender bender could easily make the car un-driveable. Getting clipped in traffic because someone makes a bad lane change or something. Also, I wouldn't be comfortable parking that in a parking lot. Some dopey soccer mom in a big SUV arcing into a parking spot could be blind to the location of protruding wheels.
Might be a fun toy, but I don't see any practicality whatsoever.
The problem with most high mpg vehicles is they aren't practical. They need to evolve the engine to really improve fuel mileage, instead of just making cars smaller to get good mileage.
I'm not sure these ideas affect the stance that sexual orientation is involuntary. Remember that gender identification does not inform much about sexual orientation.
The Left Hand Of Darkness
is great SF novel, with gender identity being one of the themes:
Ninety percent of the discussion I’ve seen of The Left Hand of Darkness is about the gender issue, about the Gethenians and their interesting states of kemmer (of either gender for a few days a month) and somer (neuter for the majority of the time.) But what makes it a book that continues to be great and enjoyable to read, rather than a historical curiosity, is that it’s a terrific story set in a fascinating culture, and the gender stuff is only part of that.
Finally, a study which may lay to rest some of the lingering fallacies about penis size and alleviate the woes shared by many men worldwide. According to new research, the average erect penis length is just over 13 centimeters, or around 5 inches. Furthermore, there’s no strong association between foot size and penis length, so women can stop judging men by the size of their shoes. You can read the entire study in BJU International.
The average flaccid penis was found to be 9.16 cm (3.61 inches) long, whereas the average erect penis is 13.12 cm (5.16 inches) in length. In terms of girth, the average circumference of a flaccid penis turned out to be 9.31 cm (3.66 inches), and 11.66 cm (4.59 inches) for an erect one. Furthermore, those at extreme ends of the spectrum were found to be much less common. For example, only 5 men out of every 100 have an erect penis longer than 16 cm (6.3 inches).
The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave
"Quantum mechanics tells us that light can behave simultaneously as a particle or a wave. However, there has never been an experiment able to capture both natures of light at the same time; the closest we have come is seeing either wave or particle, but always at different times. Taking a radically different experimental approach, EPFL scientists have now been able to take the first ever snapshot of light behaving both as a wave and as a particle"
"While this phenomenon shows the wave-like nature of light, it simultaneously demonstrated its particle aspect as well. As the electrons pass close to the standing wave of light, they "hit" the light's particles, the photons. As mentioned above, this affects their speed, making them move faster or slower. This change in speed appears as an exchange of energy "packets" (quanta) between electrons and photons. The very occurrence of these energy packets shows that the light on the nanowire behaves as a particle."
Big news/find in the field of human evolution.
That is if it isn't a fake.
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Scientists have unearthed the jawbone of what they claim is one of the very first humans. The 2.8 million-year-old specimen is 400,000 years older than researchers thought that our kind first emerged.
The discovery in Ethiopia suggests climate change spurred the transition from tree dweller to upright walker.
The head of the research team told BBC News that the find gives the first insight into "the most important transitions in human evolution".
Prof Brian Villmoare of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas said the discovery makes a clear link between an iconic 3.2 million-year-old hominin (human-like primate) discovered in the same area in 1974, called "Lucy".
Could Lucy's kind - which belonged to the species Australopithecus afarensis - have evolved into the very first primitive humans?
"That's what we are arguing," said Prof Villmoare.
But the fossil record between the time period when Lucy and her kin were alive and the emergence of Homo erectus (with its relatively large brain and humanlike body proportions) two million years ago is sparse.
The 2.8 million-year-old lower jawbone was found in the Ledi-Geraru research area, Afar Regional State, by Ethiopian student Chalachew Seyoum. He told BBC News that he was "stunned" when he saw the fossil.
"The moment I found it, I realised that it was important, as this is the time period represented by few (human) fossils in Eastern Africa."
That would make all the stuff in the ground up north pretty much worthless.
Free energy would likely put the world into the largest recession ever recorded. Every single person that works in any energy related field would be out of a job. Not just Oil but everything, every step of the way.
That would make all the stuff in the ground up north pretty much worthless.
Free energy would likely put the world into the largest recession ever recorded. Every single person that works in any energy related field would be out of a job. Not just Oil but everything, every step of the way.
It would have to be implemented very slowly.
Possibly, but for the greater good of the world, clean energy needs to be developed. You say people will be unemployed, but I say new, green industries will just get bigger. One replaces the other.
No doubt it will be a monumental transition at some point, but it is inevitable.
Oh it's definitely for the best. I just don't know if our society will be able to handle the transition. Think about all of the nations whose main export will become almost useless.
Location: In my office, at the Ministry of Awesome!
Exp:
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Originally Posted by polak
Oh it's definitely for the best. I just don't know if our society will be able to handle the transition. Think about all of the nations whose main export will become almost useless.
I think you're underestimating the demand for oil.
While it would certainly have an immediate impact on energy production (which would have a greater impact on coal than oil/gas), there would still be a huge demand from the petrochemical industry.
Also, a huge portion of oil usage is for transportation, and while we are seeing big strides in electric cars, and this would certainly help push us in that direction, the limiting factor right now, and for the forseeable future is battery technology. You really can't beat oil on an energy density basis.
Aside from that, as oil demand drops, and the price goes down for gas, it'll make it even more difficult for electric cars to complete.
So yeah, eventually, if this is true, and its free energy for everyone, it'll be a game changer, but it certianly won't be an overnight change, and hopefully economies will have time to react.
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The idea of two sexes is simplistic
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