Literary Darwinism: A relatively new field of evolutionary psychology / literary theory. What has recently been written in argument against it? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jun 3, 2008 - 7 answers

I am searching for examples of The Infinite, or the immeasurably large, in our mythologies and archetypes. I am also interested in the categories of Truth which came out of the emergence of Western, ontological thought. Does the trust in a rationally conceivable reality deny us the infinity of the mythological realm? By rooting ourselves in the present, and denying atemporal mythologies, do we also deny the infinite origins from where we came? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Nov 28, 2007 - 22 answers

I need teaching resources about race: the biology of human "races"; why "race" is not biological but social; how racial categories have shifted over time and place; and related questions on teaching about race? This is as a supplement to reading The Mismeasure of Man in a university "Critical Thinking" class. I need more science and verifiable cross-cultural examples to back up my "there are no biological races" claim. [more inside]
posted by LobsterMitten on Nov 5, 2007 - 38 answers

What are the factors that control/limit human strength? [more inside]
posted by lastobelus on Jul 2, 2007 - 12 answers

"A human is halfway in size between an atom and the known universe"... This is a paraphrased quote I have come across several times. I like it. Who said it first? How true is it in the most literal sense? And, finally, what errors arrive in postulating a universe, or an atom, which can be measured AT ALL from our singular, relativistic, perspective? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 18, 2007 - 14 answers

Why do humans and animals(?) urinate from their sex organs? Are these two bodily functions in some way related? Are their examples of animals that pee & have sex with parts of their bodies that are spaced far apart? [more inside]
posted by selton on Jul 22, 2006 - 32 answers

I'm on the hunt for sites and/or blogs about big ideas... Who wants to join me? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jul 9, 2006 - 17 answers

Are Humans Evolving? [more inside]
posted by DieHipsterDie on Jun 21, 2006 - 33 answers

Suppose it was possible to move between 2006 and thousands/millions of years ago. And suppose I snatched a baby from a 2006 maternity ward and swapped it with a baby born in the year 0006 as they lay in their maternity ward. [more inside]
posted by selton on Jun 17, 2006 - 16 answers

linguists: i vaguely remember a story that i can't verify. the gist is this: two groups of people who spoke the same language became separated by some minor geographical obstacles, like hills, and remained so for a period of years (decades, i think). upon analysis some years later, their common tongue had forked noticeably into fairly different languages. is this true? [more inside]
posted by patricking on May 13, 2006 - 17 answers

What experiments have been carried out where animals perform better than us at particular cognitive tasks? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on May 9, 2006 - 13 answers

Are humans still evolving? [more inside]
posted by Lockeownzj00 on Feb 17, 2006 - 34 answers

Why did consciousness evolve? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jan 25, 2006 - 39 answers

I am trying to find articles online which delve into the origins of naming human offspring and whether or not other species have audible monickers as well. [more inside]
posted by The Great Big Mulp on May 21, 2005 - 4 answers

Is there a limit to scientific advancement? If there is only a certain number of elements to the universe, will there reach a technology plateau? [more inside]
posted by the fire you left me on Jul 17, 2004 - 24 answers