Wyz_sub10

The Straight Dope had a piece on the very topic of cross-breeding humans and chimpanzees.

I can't seem to find the exact article, but one could search for it here

jayh

Mainly because of the 'interest factor'. It almost sounds like a setup for a male/female joke... so people found it interesting (I did).
No it does not upset any established science or anthropology.

Jay

sullster

Thanks Jay for your responce.

You say that this 2% story does not upset any established science or anthropology, yet it could upset political or social ideologies.

Could it not upset feminist ideology by hinting at quantifiable differences between the sexes in the DNA? These differences could support a whole range of differences between males and females that could run counter to ideological views.

Thus, could this 2% story really have been a provocation, rather than a big science tidbit?

jayh

I suppose it could, but that issue has largely been established through recent research on psychology and evolutionary psychology. Sexes have different optimizational strategies, and this is what one would really expect.

Interestingly the differences between men and women are likely to be more hormonal than genetic (though in the case of humans and most mammals, genetics triggers significant amounts of hormone production). In many reptiles, for example, males and females are genetically identical, sex (including the development of sex organs and sexual behavior) is determined by temperature and other conditions that occur during incubation.

This particular headline sounds more like a party chat tidbit than a serious overturning of scientific thought.

J

Wounded King

I don't see why it should upset feminist ideology unless that ideology actually want women to be men, which would seem fairly unlikely.

There are obvious some fundamental differences beteen males and females genetically, there is also a spectrum of intermediate states which almost all have a genetic basis.

Nialler

I'd say the unspoken implication here is based on faulty logic:

abs(x-y)=abs(x-z), therefore y=z

Or, in English, there exists the same *amount* of genetic differences between man and woman as exists between man and chimp, therefore woman equals chimp.

The statement doesn't, of course cater for the type of differences that are present in each comparison.

To plug some values into the equation:

Abs(6-4)=abs(6-8) [True], therefore 4=8[er, untrue]

The creatos seem to love this type of story and readily supply the faulty logic, apparently hoping that no-one will notice. "you see,", I can hear them say, "the geneticists tell us that chimps are the same as woman, which is obviously untrue, therefore they're liars".

streamline

I once took an overnight Greyhound bus from the south side of Chicago up to Minneapolis St. Paul. Based on my experience, I've gotta go with the bus scenario. Go Greyhound, and leave the driving to them (while I just tried not to touch anything with my bare skin, and held my breath for much of the ride).