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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Domesticated Homo Sapiens



We developed a symbiotic relationship with memeplexes from the start.  Language domesticated us.  Memeplexes played a  parenting role, stabilizing our food supplies, developing architecture.  As we domesticated other species, we domesticated ourselves, through cooking and tool making and telling stories. 


We are poorly adapted to survival in the wilderness.  We need tools and often companions to gather and hunt dinner.  We need shelter and clothing to protect us from the elements.  We quickly learned to create synthetic environments (the city being a prime example) and these environments changed rapidly (compared to geologic and ecologic change) and our natural bodies and brains have struggled to adapt with them.


We domesticated ourselves, selecting mates for their mechanical and linguistic aptitude, social skills, reputation and creativity.  Creativity is an interesting one because it involves a flexibility of the mind, playfulness, a juvenile trait.  And something curious happened: our features became rounder, eyes became wider, brows less prominent and our jaws shrank.  These smaller, juvenile features demonstrate the paedomorphosis of humanoids to modern humans. 


We shunned and executed those among us who were too aggressive and assertive...something we also did to other species in the process of domestication. 

Memeplexes extended childhood, even empowered people to experience lifelong "immaturity"  (meaning a dependency on the society & memeplexes to feed, clothe and shelter).  This has increased physical security and leisure time, meaning an increased potential for learning and an increased opportunity for creativity.  This has also increased life expectancy, material goods and food security.


Memeplexes are so intricately intertwined with us that we find it difficult to imagine our existence without them.  They often encourage deference to the group consensus, belief in supernatural entities and other practices which complicate our lives as much as they may help.

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