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Why Do So Many Couples Look Alike? Like they could be brother and sister?

Nobody_Important

Nobody_Important

“Aww, it’s so...average,” she said to him in a cold brick of passion
Rentahamster said:
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E-Cat

E-Cat

Member
Ecotic said:
Think of two genetically distant subspecies sharing the same environment. They both exist and so they must both be successful, right? But they're only successful because they're each specializing in their own niche in the environment and have a body plan built to exploit that niche. The study was saying that DNA hardwires us to understand that even though a genetically distant partner is available and successful in their own way, mating with them is a gamble that could produce unfit offspring.

The example the study used was the famous Galapagos Finches that Charles Darwin documented. They were all the same species of finch, but each subspecies had a dramatically different beak meant to harvest a different type of food. Some had short and hardy beaks meant to break open seeds, others had long and pointed beaks meant to extract insects from trees. They could all interbreed and produce fertile offspring, but they avoided each other because a hybrid offspring could have an in-between beak that couldn't crush seeds or reach insects. Their DNA hardwired these finches somehow to seek mates with as similar a beak as possible.

Another good example would be two species of big cats occupying the same area. Imagine one hunts by the river and is built for swimming like a Jaguar, and the other hunts on open land and is built for chasing down prey like a Lion. Even though they could technically interbreed, their DNA would hardwire them to stay away from each other because a hybrid offspring could have a hybrid body plan that's no longer good for swimming or running. It would starve.

The study conjectured that humans had sound reasons to want to be with people who look as similar to themselves as possible. Imagine it's the distant past and you live in the far north, then survival means your skin color being very pale to get the right amount of Vitamin D, and your body being short and barrel-chested to preserve as much heat as possible. You therefore have a very specific body plan to survive in your environment. Now imagine some explorers arrive who originate from a scorching equatorial region. Their body plan for their environment means they have a dark complexion and are very tall and skinny (for optimum heat dissipation). So, having children with these explorers would be a bad idea and result in children not adapted to their environment. In this scenario both populations were successful in their own way in their own environment, but their hybrid offspring wouldn't be.

Or go even further in the past, when there were many different species of hominin such as Neanderthals or Homo Floresiensis (those very small hominins from Indonesia). It's been shown today that humans suffer genetic disease from ancient humans interbreeding with Neanderthals, and we only have 2% of our DNA from Neanderthals. Interbreeding between those majorly distinct groups of ancient hominins could have produced very sick, if marginally fertile offspring.

Well, hopefully you get my point. The study was saying that DNA seems to instruct us to know that while a genetically distant potential partner could be available and is successful, it's often a gamble with poor odds of success. It's best to stick with what's working, and that means finding someone similar to who we are.
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Thanks for the detailed response, I can definitely see your point. Just a few observations I would add-

1. Compared to some other species, all humans are genetically quite similar to each other since we all share common ancestry originating from Africa not too long ago; so obviously we are all compatible to breed with each other easily, and in general are not as specialized to a particular ecological niche as some of the sub-species you brought up.

2. Skin/hair color may be of some relevance with people of widely differing amounts of melanin. But even within relatively homogenous societies like Scandinavia, people who "look more similar" to each other than the rest still tend to get together more often (I would know, I live here).

3. Regarding facial traits other than skin color, they are often 'cosmetic' and don't necessarily reflect survival function (though the Nazis would disagree). For humans, intellectual ability seems to be an important predictor of fitness, and that doesn't visually manifest outwards (though popular culture would disagree).

4. To turn the idea of unfit offspring from a genetically distant partner on its head, too close a genetic proximity can also be bad, enriching alleles that lead to genetic disease (either "obvious" incest like between family members, or in a small, remote village over many generations, say). On the other hand, finding distant alleles can alleviate many such problems and promote a more robust gene pool. This may be why many people are attracted to 'exotic' traits not found in themselves.
 
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I

isual

Member
Men look for different things in women when it comes to mate selection. I look for femininity, fitness, and friendliness.
 
poodaddy

poodaddy

Member
22•22 said:
Yeah poodaddy poodaddy this is just a beta yo come on. Lately there have been talks about Walmart ... Hush hush PSA don't touch the mannequins
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I've got a buddy who's been seriously texting me about planet 9 and how all eclipses are lies and the government is lying to us about the ninth planet. Why? That he conveniently doesn't know, but I've been really digging on some good conspiracy theories lately from this buddy of mine. Love him to death, we've been friends for nearly thirty years, but he gets taken by that kinda stuff lol.
 
ÆMNE22A!C

ÆMNE22A!C

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
poodaddy said:
I've got a buddy who's been seriously texting me about planet 9 and how all eclipses are lies and the government is lying to us about the ninth planet. Why? That he conveniently doesn't know, but I've been really digging on some good conspiracy theories lately from this buddy of mine. Love him to death, we've been friends for nearly thirty years, but he gets taken by that kinda stuff lol.
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LOL i get ya. And him.

Who doesn't want to espace our current cesspool in one way or another.

I've also been into ancient aliens (which sounds cringey af now after all those year) since I've been 15.

If you want some stuff with some legit research hit me up. Supressed history is my current interest.

Otherwise thanks for sharing lol.

*whistling The X-Files theme
 
poodaddy

poodaddy

Member
22•22 said:
LOL i get ya. And him.

Who doesn't want to espace our current cesspool in one way or another.

I've also been into ancient aliens (which sounds cringey af now after all those year) since I've been 15.

If you want some stuff with some legit research hit me up. Supressed history is my current interest.

Otherwise thanks for sharing lol.

*whistling The X-Files theme
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Heck yeah man, I love the suppressed history stuff and X files, and I do believe in aliens. I just get a kick out of how he always gets grabbed by the stuff with the least feasibility lol. He's a good dude though.
 
Ownage

Ownage

Member
Ecotic said:
I read a scientific study or something about this years ago. It was determined that DNA desires to propagate itself as similarly to itself as it can, and it manifests in a desire to seek out partners with similar features. There was a sound basis for this. If a person or an animal exists, then it must mean that its genetics are a good match for its environment since its parents were obviously successful in procreating, and so DNA desires to find a partner that's as accurate to itself as possible to continue this evolutionary success.
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Interesting. There must be some causes for outliers tho. Would be curious to see that.
 
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MaestroMike

MaestroMike

Gold Member
opposites attract no one wants to fukk their sister if couples look a like they're probably in an area with low genetic variation like in the mountains or rural areas
 
PSlayer

PSlayer

Member
I think is a combination of wanting to date somebody who is "in your league" with wanting children that look like you.

If you're a 7 out 10 you want somebody who is a 7+ AND you want somebody with whom you will have kids that look like both of you.

I remember seeing a stat floating around that white people of both sexes mostly date each other,rarely dating outside of their races specially when it comes to long term/marriage.
 
NecrosaroIII

NecrosaroIII

Ultimate DQ Fan
PSlayer said:
I remember seeing a stat floating around that white people of both sexes mostly date each other,rarely dating outside of their races specially when it comes to long term/mamarriage.
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Not just white people. Most people date within their race
 
LimanimaPT

LimanimaPT

Member
This is pure nonsense. You can find hundreds of lookalikes but you will have millions of not lookalikes. Of course in millions of couples some will look "similar".
 
-Minsc-

-Minsc-

Member
Ecotic said:
I read a scientific study or something about this years ago. It was determined that DNA desires to propagate itself as similarly to itself as it can, and it manifests in a desire to seek out partners with similar features. There was a sound basis for this. If a person or an animal exists, then it must mean that its genetics are a good match for its environment since its parents were obviously successful in procreating, and so DNA desires to find a partner that's as accurate to itself as possible to continue this evolutionary success.
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So you are saying we are designed to be racist? The Avenue Q song was right all along.
 
StueyDuck

StueyDuck

Member
Aren't these all just influencers?

It wouldn't be a surprise considering they'll both be doing/using the same fake products and medical procedures.

I can't say most real life normal couples I know look all that similar, or not enough to look related
 
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