Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with humans

How can I smell like my dog?

tr0ubley — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:37:58 -0800

How do I learn to smell like my dog? I once read an article (referenced here) about how humans can follow a scent trail through a meadow if down on their hands and knees with nose to the ground, much the same way dogs can. In fact, I seem to remember reading that with some practice, the people involved in the experiment became so skillful that their speed at following the scent trail was limited only by how fast they could crawl.

When I come home from being out, my curious dog doesn’t just smell me from across the room. Instead he places his nostrils right on my hands and clothing. I have noticed that many, many household items have a very distinctive odor if I put my nose very close to them. I now feel that I have been missing out on a major sensory experience because humans don't generally smell things (except laundry) by touching them directly to our noses.

My question is this: while I know my dog has a better sense of smell than I do, how much of this is related to real physiological differences, and how much can I make up for by using new methods (i.e. putting my nose close to things, actively trying to remember smells, etc.)? What other tips and tricks do you have for being more scent-conscious?

Yes, but if we were birds, would traffic STILL be backed up for miles?

zarq — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:30:54 -0800

Is there a scientific explanation for rubbernecking beyond "simple curiosity"? Are we predisposed as a species to run towards danger? I was re-reading David Brin's Uplift War, and a character mentions that this is one way in which primates are unusual compared to other animals. Is this is an accurate assessment? Do other animals do so? Have there been any sociobiological studies of various animal orders or species which support or refute the concept?

Forget Creationism, we should teach _______ in public schools!

InsanePenguin — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:59:01 -0800

Is there an alternative to evolution or intelligent design? We constantly hear arguments about evolution versus intelligent design, but is there an alternative? I was watching Planet Earth and they were talking about chimpanzees, but I wasn't really paying attention, I was just looking at the chimps and thinking "Wow, they are really similar, but we've looked so hard for a link and haven't found one, really."

So, curiously (because I do believe in evolution,) I was wondering if there were any alternatives. I don't care how hokey or trumped up it sounds, I'd just like to hear different ideas.

Bonus points for interesting articles.

What to do now to improve the human race in the long term?

fabius — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:38:30 -0800

What things could one person do now to best progress human civilization in the long term (ie, millions of years)? I recently read Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon. Written in 1930 it describes the waxing and waning of human civilizations (and evolution of the species) over hundreds of millions of years.

It gives one an extremely long-term perspective on humanity. Once it gets going the author necessarily never describes individual people, because the scale is so vast. Whole branches of human evolution can be dealt with in a single paragraph.

But despite this it left me wondering: what things could individuals do that would progress human civilization, even if only a tiny, tiny amount? What actions now, or over the lifetime of a 21st century human, would improve the lives of humans in the distant future? What would increase their chances of survival, their evolution, their culture, their technology, their politics, their... anything.

What can we do now to move the human race forward on an extremely long term basis?

Teaching resources about racial concepts: their biological validity and various cultural expressions

LobsterMitten — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:22:51 -0800

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. Give me your best clear, scientific teaching resources (websites, books, examples) about why the idea that humans belong to different biological races has been discredited.

Two objections I'm especially interested in answers to:
1. Sickle cell anemia, Tay Sachs disease etc. Some groups do have biological characteristics in common (eg susceptibility to certain diseases). Why not then say that race has some usefulness in making biological predictions?

2. "Why are blacks such great athletes? I heard they have extra tendons in their legs, and more ATP." (!!!) I have a student who is very attached to racial categories. What do scientists make of the observation that, for example, many Kenyans seem extra well-suited to be long distance runners? Is there any good science on this?

Another request - evidence that race categories are arbitrary and shifting.

3. Pictures and info on different racial categorization systems that have been used in different places and times -- the more different from present-day USA, the better.

4. Sources of quotes etc on past racial categorizations (eg, the filthy Irish) that would discriminate against people who would now be considered "white".

Scientific evidence of reproduction urge?

defenestration — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:37:45 -0800

Is there scientific evidence that animals have an innate/instinctual urge to reproduce? Is there scientific evidence that it is the same in humans? Disclaimer: I'm not well educated in Biology. Or at least as much as I should be.

I've always believed there is, because it was always taught as a given, but I've never actually read any scientific studies to that effect. Is our opinion that all animals have an innate/instinctual urge to reproduce purely based on non-scientific evidence?

This question is sparked because my brother feels that animals actually only have an innate/instinctual urge to have sex and that reproduction is only a by-product, in that it's not intentional, either intellectually or innately/instinctually (and that with humans it's a bit different due to the intellectual aspect of it). I disagreed in that I always thought the urge was to reproduce and that sex was the by-product. I do agree though that I feel with humans it's a bit different due to the intellectual aspect...

I tried to google for some scientific evidence, but any mention of such urge is only in passing or editorial.

I'm fairly certain that I hold the majority viewpoint, so I don't just need people saying yes or no, this is right or that is right (although, viewpoints based on actual knowledge of the field are welcomed). What I'm wondering is if we can scientifically study that these urges exist, and if so, what have been the outcomes of such studies?

Sorry about how long-winded this is, but I just wanted to get this question out there.

Where can I find large and small testicles?

itchi23 — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 13:15:03 -0800

Where can I find data (online) on the average size of common mammalian species' testes? I'm looking for a variety of common mammalian species, from gorilla to the average ground squirrel. I'm not looking for any specific mammal, although a large variety of "common" (house cat, dogs, cows, humans, rats, etc.) ones would be great. I'm also not looking for anecdotal "data" (i.e. "The blue whale's penis the size of a Volkswagen!") - just a basic list.
Now I realize this might not be readily available data - I'm willing to compile it. Alternately, if there's some site that has some averaged data on a variety of mammals, (height, weight, testes size...you know, common facts) that would be great too.

All the basic units of life.

kisch mokusch — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 03:01:41 -0800

I'm interested in cells. As many different types as can be identified, and the more specific the better. Preferably mammalian, certainly vertebrate (otherwise the the list would be too big!). Sound references desirable (or, failing that, a brief description of which organ they can be found in).

e.g.
Dendritic Epidermal T cells: T cells found in the skin of mice (but not humans). Nat. Med.

Ideally the answers would be from biologists/reasearchers who have experience with the particular cell(s) they mention. I've already seen the wikipedia list, and although at first glance it seems impressive, it has a lot of errors, and is lacking references. So first-hand knowledge is highly desirable.

Quality over quantity.

Are humans more naturally disposed to eat certain foods over others?

scarylarry — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:30:48 -0800

Most animals (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores alike) seem to eat and/or prefer food from a very limited set of options. But humans eat just about everything. Are there foods that humans are more biologically disposed to eat? Alternatively, are there other animals that eat foods as widely diverse as humans do?

Catseyes

twine42 — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:07:09 -0800

How quickly do other animals react to changes in light, and why are we so slow by comparison? If our cat is running about like a nutcase, and I turn off the lights, she can aparently still see where she's going. She doesn't run into anything or stop dead, yet I can't see a damned thing for a few minutes, and it's about 15 minutes until I can see really clearly.

Why is it that cats can switch so quickly from light sight to night sight? It's obviously not just a case of pupils dilating. And why have we aparently evolved to be so completely crap in the dark? What other animals are as good as cats or as crap as humans?

What do you do when masturbation has lost its fun?

sjvilla79 — Thu, 25 May 2006 23:00:50 -0800

What do you do when masturbation has lost its fun? I'm in a serious relationship right now. The first good one for about two years. So, I find now that I'm not masturbating at all. And yeah I'm fine with it. But even having a go by myself nowadays just doesn't have that same old appeal. I actually get bored, distracted, and then eventually stop. I basically can't stop thinking about my girlfriend. Everything else isn't floating my boat! How might one go about getting that zest for self-gratification back again though? Should I even care? Oh yeah we do have heaps of sex (you can put mutual masturbation and so on under that umbrella). It's all great. Just need to be clear on that. But I guess my mind is still wondering if there's really room for masturbation outside of a loving relationship. Have you been here?

What's wrong with saying that I'd never say never?

sjvilla79 — Thu, 18 May 2006 19:23:42 -0800

My girlfriend asked me if I'd ever have sex with a man. I replied by saying that I'd never say never. Does this make me less of a heterosexual? I admit I'm curious but probably have no desire to fulfil my curiosity. Should I convince her more that I'm not willing to go to such extremes? She seems a bit worried. I really don't care that much and quite often act gay just to tease her about it. What would you do if you were me? We seem to still be getting on alright.

How can I best interpret my dreams?

sjvilla79 — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 22:08:06 -0800

How might I best begin in interpreting my dreams? I've been having awesome dreams lately. In fact they're probably the best dreams I can remember having for a long time. Of course some elements of these dreams I can explain to myself. I mean it's probably stuff from my subconscious thought processes filtering on through. But what I'd really like to do is try and decipher what the more cryptic, sometimes messed up stuff is all about. Some dreams of late, for example, have been an extension of previous dreams, with some of those older dreams being years old. And yes I know there's a few websites out there for this kind of thing. Frankly, though, they look and feel like they were made for the Internet of yesterday, with information that's mostly generalised garbage anyway. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places though? Links?

With books, however, I guess I could say I'm fairly hopeless with them on this subject too. I assume there's some awesome ones out there though, such as a giant encyclopaedia of items to reference for example (hopefully covering additional aspects of dreaming too).

Anyway, it's probably obvious by now that I'm not even sure where to start with this and thus I'm hoping some dreamers here will be able to set me on the right track.

I guess it's sweet dreams for now though. Thanks.

What are humans best at?

stoneegg21 — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 06:48:14 -0800

How are humans different physically from other creatures? What are we best at? What sort of things are humans best at? I've always heard that while humans can't hear very high or very low, we've got the largest hearing range. As well, I don't think many other creatures have the same range of color vision that we do. I think that humans aren't good at sprinting, but that we're pretty good at endurance activities. Finally, I've been told that humans have pretty huge penises considering their bodysize, along with the weird fact humans don't have penis bones of any kind. Which of these are wrong, and what else are there?

Play it again, Sam

riffola — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 15:34:54 -0800

Why are so many famous lines popularly misquoted? On Star Trek, "Beam me up, Scotty." was never mentioned on the show, the closest line was "Beam me up, Mr. Scott."
In Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman says "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'" not "Play it again, Sam."
In Star Wars, Darth Vader doesn't say "Luke, I am your father," he says "No, I am your father."
"We don't need no stinking badges!" was actually "Badges!? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!" in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

An illustrated book about the evolution of humans

Big Fat Tycoon — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 12:48:33 -0800

Inspired by this question, does anyone remember an illustrated, sci-fi book that came out about 15-20 years ago, which consisted mostly of possible forms that human evolution would take, and full-colour illustrations of what these future humans would look like? I only skimmed it once at a bookstore as a kid, but I distinctly remember one image where there were two types of humans, given Latin species names: a small, overseer human form that farmed and ate these cow-like, obese humans.

Unfortunately, that's about all I have to off of.

Why do people have speech impediments?

sjvilla79 — Thu, 12 May 2005 06:31:16 -0800

Why do people have speech impediments? I'm talking about the type of speech impediment that causes people to make that hiss sound when sounding out the letter S. I only ask because more recently I've noticed that it's quite a common thing for people to have and was wondering if these people share a similar trait that causes them to speak this way (with a lisp). Of course I only ask this question with sincere interest and I hope it is perceived this way.

Any news on humans living forever?

sjvilla79 — Sun, 01 May 2005 18:27:11 -0800

What's being done in scientific fields with regards to the search for eternal youth? I recall seeing an article or two (MeFi link) about this a while back. The concept of never getting old isn't out of our reach is it? Will it happen in our lifetime? I'm not too keen on getting old, hey.

Good Digital Thermometer for People

Alex Marshall — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 11:37:09 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good digital thermometer for humans? We have several, which we bought at the drugstore for $10 or so, and they all suck. They all give readings that vary by as much as two degrees when you take your temperature twice. Often they seem to under report temperature. I just took mine with a new one we bought, and typically, it reported my temperature as 94.5 the first time, and 97.9 the second. My wife got similar results. We have a new baby, and would like a good thermometer. We'd be willing to spend a lot more on it than ten dollars if it works well. Can anyone recommend one?

Sci Fi Collections

geekhorde — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 00:17:14 -0800

[Two Obscure SciFi Short Story Questions]
When I was a kid our family library was stocked with lots of 'Best Of' Sci Fi collections. One particular story that I half remember had something to do with the human race being enslaved by large aliens, and basically a slave revolt by humans occurs in one of the alien ships. The other story was about an alien artifact (a helmet?) and some quasi-Egyptian pyramid ruins. That's really about all I can remember, other than I remember enjoying both stories very much. Any ideas? I figured furtive had such good luck so quickly, and these have been bothering me, so I'd try my luck.

Not sure, but I think they were both in the same book.