At 12:24 AM 8/5/01 -0400 David Hobby wrote:
>> Do you have any cite for this sort of exclusive bond? I've been wracking
>> my brain and can't think of a reference.
>
> Maia's own mother had this kind of exclusivity for Maia's
>father.
Are you sure?
>> Founders did one thing right, in that they delayed puberty until @18, and
>> delayed the full onslaught of the sex drive and fertility until @24 years.
>
> It certainly might make society better to delay puberty.
>But the thing I keep looking for is which changes to the genome
>are stable under evolutionary pressure. It should be BETTER for
>reproduction to delay puberty. This probably is so on Stratos, but
>might not be so under a welfare state (Or maybe I've seen too many
>fragments of Jerry Springer's teenage mothers!)
Well, the problem is that the more successful human beings tend to be
lately, the fewer children they tend to have. So yes, delaying
reproduction seems to produce a few high quality children. Starting
early, however, seems to produce an awful lot of children. Unfortunately,
it is the latter case that is selected for.
Another thought to consider, however, is that delayed reproduction might be
evolutionary resistant for certain societies where premarital sex is
strongly frowned upon.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
We are products of the same history, reaching from Jerusalem and
Athens to Warsaw and Washington. We share more than an alliance.
We share a civilization. - George W. Bush, Warsaw, 06/15/01
