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Subject: 
Re: New poll: sexuality and Lugnet
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Tue, 21 Sep 2004 22:46:08 GMT
Viewed: 
1277 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Laswell wrote:
   In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Cynthia Bradham wrote:
   This incredible process was discovered when people began to realize that we each have too many different antibody proteins, and that our DNA isn’t long enough to encode them all. Eventually they figured out that each antibody-producing cell rearranges it’s DNA to produce a unique antibody gene & protein.

Okay, so that works on an individual celular level, with cells that have evolved specifically to do this. Do you really think something as tied to the core psychology of self as sexual orientation would be post-natally programmable at the genetic level? Especially considering the number of people who end up identifying as homosexual in spite of living in geographic areas where such lifestyles are subject to violent oppression?

The bottom line is: we don’t know!! We can speculate all we want to, but we just don’t have any facts to go by.
  
I can see the logic behind the males of certain species (like lions) exhibiting bi tendencies as a means of enforcing social dominance, but there’s no evolutionary benefit that I can possibly think of for a certain percentage of rams to only prefer going after other rams and completely ignoring any nearby ewes which might be in heat.

Because we can’t think of one doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Nature is generally smarter than we are :)

   No, I think if it had proven to be purely psychological, it would be a post-natal development, but the sheep studies have shown that there is a significant difference in brain structure, not just brain activity.

But there is no data on whether the difference in brain structure is a cause or an effect. And no way to test that. It’s a very interesting observation, but it does not lead to conclusions. BTW, brains are made of cells, brain structure arises from cells. The development of the brain is not limited to the prenatal period.



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: New poll: sexuality and Lugnet
 
(...) Okay, so that works on an individual celular level, with cells that have evolved specifically to do this. Do you really think something as tied to the core psychology of self as sexual orientation would be post-natally programmable at the (...) (20 years ago, 21-Sep-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

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