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[genjiZERO]

Isn't everyone different because of gene mutation and evolution from black people in Africa?

Yes. Every living thing on the planet is the product of mutations. I'd caution to say "black people". Not because our ancestors didn't have dark skin - I'm sure they did, but because, even if there are differences between populations of people, race is still mostly a sociological construct, and Africans, in particular, are very diverse genetically. However, I'm sure society would consider them "black" today.

 

[Izick]

Yes. Every living thing on the planet is the product of mutations. I'd caution to say "black people". Not because our ancestors didn't have dark skin - I'm sure they did, but because, even if there are differences between populations of people, race is still mostly a sociological construct, and Africans, in particular, are very diverse genetically. However, I'm sure society would consider them "black" today.

Eh, I understand what you're saying but I don't like the whole overly PC thing. If they were white people from Switzerland or whatever then I'd say that we all came from white people. To live in Africa they were most certainly black, because of the conditions, and then when they were strong enough to spread out over the Earth, white people became white due to the conditions, Asians because of the conditions, etc. Anyone who isn't black is likely the most mutated and altered. It's like how some people have pointy noses or flat noses because of the environment as well.

EDIT: I've also wondered why some people can't grow facial hair as well as others, especially white people. Since most white people variants come from colder environments I would have expected it would be easier to grow a beard since that would be another way to combat the cold.

 

[hym]

Spoiler

Sorry to those that don't watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jeff (fat guy) got accused by an ex-gf of having a tiny dick and he defends himself by saying she has a massive vagina, which is eventually proven in the episode.

 

[Tristam]

Absolutely. Stick with making fun of Koreans just to be safe.

The WORLD PENIS SIZE MAP's source reads 'Seoul', and the study was apparently conducted in year 0. When I lived in Korea I had seen enough Korean weenies in the jjimjilbangs to constitute a sample size worth statistical inference. The figure given in the map can only be true if their penises actually shrink when erect.

Like every other group of people, they've got tiny and well-hung dudes with most falling between those categories

Spoiler

Oh, I know you're being facetious, but seeing a WORLD PENIS SIZE MAP apparently activates the 'DUMBFUCK' gene in many posters.

 

[SapientWolf]

Ugh, I should have known what this thread would become before entering.

I think my largest reservation accepting the penis size "myths" is what it opens the door to. I'm not saying those "myths" are wrong; as of right now there is scant reliable evidence, but what scant reliable evidence exists generally points to these "myths" being true.

The problem is that there are lots of other racist stereotypes that have weak evidence to support them, and if we applied the same basic logic with other stereotypes that we just applied to penis size people would erupt in a much greater furor very quickly.

I mean, if we start admitting there are real, important differences between the races (And relying on scant evidence to "prove" it), then we can also start admitting that some races may be less intelligent on average than other races, and that some races may be less disciplined on average than other races. Again, I'm not saying we can't discuss this. I just don't think this is a door many people actually want to open.

In my experience, I find people are quick to accept the stereotypes that benefit their particular race (Asian people are smart, Black people have large penises), but don't like it when the door swings open and the less flattering stereotypes walk through the door along with the more flattering ones. I'm willing to keep all the stereotypes-with-scant-evidence out, or I'm willing to bring in all of them, even if they make us uncomfortable; but only accepting the ones we happen to find personally flattering is not reasonable.

Again, for emphasis: I'm willing to discuss racial stereotypes, but as soon as we open the door for penis size we open the door for a lot of things which are much more important and much less comfortable for everyone involved.

Didn't we just open the door to breast size stereotypes though?

 

[Tacitus_]

Eh, I understand what you're saying but I don't like the whole overly PC thing. If they were white people from Switzerland or whatever then I'd say that we all came from white people. To live in Africa they were most certainly black, because of the conditions, and then when they were strong enough to spread out over the Earth, white people became white due to the conditions, Asians because of the conditions, etc. Anyone who isn't black is likely the most mutated and altered. It's like how some people have pointy noses or flat noses because of the environment as well.

I don't think he is being PC about it. There are studies that suggest that Africa houses more genetic diversity among humans than the rest of the world combined.

 

[Izick]

I don't think he is being PC about it. There are studies that suggest that Africa houses more genetic diversity among humans than the rest of the world combined.

I believe that, since it's the center of life and a very large place, but I'm just saying they likely had black skin, thus black people. If they had white skin then I'd have said white people.

 

[davepoobond]

Isn't everyone different because of gene mutation and evolution from black people in Africa?

neanderthals are another whole subspecies that was created through gene mutation.

 

[Tacitus_]

I believe that, since it's the center of life and a very large place, but I'm just saying they likely had black skin, thus black people. If they had white skin then I'd have said white people.

Yeah but when people say "black" or "white" they usually mean everyone with that color of skin, like they would be a singular group. I think the gene that's mentioned in the OP was found on something like 60% of the East Asian population, so you could comfortably lump them together, but you couldn't really do that with people from Africa.

 

[Izick]

Yeah but when people say "black" or "white" they usually mean everyone with that color of skin, like they would be a singular group. I think the gene that's mentioned in the OP was found on something like 60% of the East Asian population, so you could comfortably lump them together, but you couldn't really do that with people from Africa.

Alright that's fair I guess.

 

[Opiate]

Didn't we just open the door to breast size stereotypes though?

Do you mean only that stereotype? No. You open the door to any stereotype that has a modicum of evidence to support it. As soon as you accept one racist stereotype on that basis, there is no logical reason not to accept them all.

Consider the most important example of a racist stereotype; that black people are not as intelligent as other races. There is even some evidence to support that argument -- black people do indeed have lower average IQs than do people of other races, both in the US and outside it. There are two reasonable, serious arguments against this racist stereotype.

1) Race is largely a sociological construct, and there is unlikely to be any real, significant genetic differences between the races outside of different melanin levels.

2) The evidence to support the notion that blacks aren't as intelligent is hardly conclusive. IQ is not a perfect indicator of absolute intelligence.

The problem is that we've already eliminated both of these arguments as soon as we accept that penis size "myth.". If we accept the penis size "myth," then we also admit that there really are real, significant genetic differences between the races; so just as one race may have a larger penis size than another, so too might one race be more intelligent than another. And If we accept the penis size "myth" based on inconclusive and incomplete evidence, then surely we must do the same when it comes to myths about racial intelligence; in both cases, the science is incomplete, but they sort-of-kind-of point to both myths being true.

You see the problem? The rational defenses against the more terrible stereotypes of the world are thrown out the window as soon as you start accepting less serious racial stereotypes, and do so based on scant evidence. Again, it's a door I'm willing to walk through and explore, and it's all in good fun when we're talking about something that doesn't matter all that much like penis size, but I don't think people are going to like the more serious, harmful stereotypes that walk through the door along with it.

 

[genjiZERO]

Eh, I understand what you're saying but I don't like the whole overly PC thing. If they were white people from Switzerland or whatever then I'd say that we all came from white people. To live in Africa they were most certainly black, because of the conditions, and then when they were strong enough to spread out over the Earth, white people became white due to the conditions, Asians because of the conditions, etc. Anyone who isn't black is likely the most mutated and altered. It's like how some people have pointy noses or flat noses because of the environment as well.

EDIT: I've also wondered why some people can't grow facial hair as well as others, especially white people. Since most white people variants come from colder environments I would have expected it would be easier to grow a beard since that would be another way to combat the cold.

I think that's fair enough. I'm just trying to acknowledge that words like "black" and "white" have imprecise meaning. In Britain, people from South Asia are called "black", but they are even less genetically similar to Africans than "white" Europeans are. So I say not to use it because of PC sentiments, but because the word is too ambiguous.

edit:

I also agree with everything Tacitus_ is saying.

 

[Izick]

I think that's fair enough. I'm just trying to acknowledge that words like "black" and "white" have imprecise meaning. In Britain, people from South Asia are called "black", but they are even less genetically similar to Africans than "white" Europeans are. So I say not to use it because of PC sentiments, but because the word is too ambiguous.

Yeah, like I said before I think I understand (and agree) with where you're coming from.

 

[SquiddyCracker]

Opiate is spot-on with his analysis.
Personally, I think that you should be free to investigate myths - but if you're going to throw around claims with very little evidence backing it up, then your statements should be treated as racist ones.

 

[bobbytkc]

No, you're talking about the median, not the average (i.e. mean).

For a normal distribution, the mean is the same as the median. The central limit theorem guarantees that averages follow a normal distribution.