“You don’t know what cold is. I once survived an entire week trapped in a Swiss glacier eating nothing but frozen Neanderthal. To this day, I can’t stand the taste of early hominid.” – Futurama
So, after 232 ties in a row . . . Gung decided that “rock beats skull”.
Usually, I write about money and finance and the shenanigans going on in the world now. I thought I’d deviate from that formula for several reasons. First, I’d like to have some good news about the financial world, and that didn’t happen this week, unless Biden had a brief moment of lucidity and finally figured out that the sanctions are actually hurting us more than Russia. (Checks news.) Nope.
Second, on Monday I wrote about collective vengeance. It was, in modern Western Civilization, an anachronism that is rapidly returning. The post talked about how I had grown up in shell where collective punishment simply didn’t exist and that it was rapidly returning.
I’ll note that my youthful innocence on collective punishment didn’t extend forever, but the point of the post was that the Left fed on collective punishment – I might write more about that in the future, since (last time I checked) I still seem to have an infinite amount of words combinations left.
I am, however, very aware that collective punishment was at one time the norm. Reading in the Bible, when the wall of Jericho came down, not a single person was supposed to be left alive, so historically in a story we all know, collective punishment was a thing.
Why don’t the Amish complain when people make fun of them on the Internet? Amish: “What’s an Internet?”
I’ve written about things even farther back in history, and (perhaps) why people are the way they are based on tribe sizes in a theory that I think is entirely unique (read this because it’s awesome) until someone shows me that it was already written about the year I was born. I’m still irritated that Newton figured out F=ma when I was only six. Conversely, wouldn’t it be a hoot if an Internet humorist actually figured out why people are nuts?
Third, this post is really related to Monday’s post, and it shows this: collective punishment may be actively written into our DNA, and only during brief moments of history (as brought about by Western Civilization and its particular individualist elements) is it not the norm.
I’ll start this rather unusual post with a concept that many a familiar with: the Uncanny Valley.
The Uncanny Valley is that weird place that we get when something looks human, but isn’t. An example would be CGI that looks like a human, but there’s something in the CGI that makes us step back because we process the simple equation: it looks a lot like a human, but it’s not human.
Well, it’s nice that the spirit of Yoko lives on. Except this one takes out a monarchy that started in 1066.
Zombies are a perfect example. For me, that idea that something that is so close to human is propelled by an intelligence that is certainly not human is one of the scariest ideas.
Why? Why do things that inhabit the Uncanny Valley between human and observably not-human give us the creeps? The Uncanny Valley implies that at some point in human history, there was something that looked like us, and wasn’t us. It must have been a very, very big deal if tens of thousands of years later it still can inhabit our collective memory and produce a (general) revulsion and fear.
What was it that did that?
I’m sure they had a very complicated order at Starbucks®.
I’m thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was the Neanderthals. This was spurred on by the book Them+Us by Danny Vendramini. He’s got a website here (LINK) and the image of the Neanderthal below is from his site, which he allows based on terms that seem to have disappeared, so, I’m thinking Fair Use covers it all.
I like the book. Spoiler, Them is the Neanderthal, and Us is, well, our ancestors.
He starts the book by attempting to reconstruct what a Neanderthal really looked like. For most of my life, what I’ve seen were the pictures of people who, with just a wee bit of barbering, you could toss into a suit and they’d be at home at the floor of the New York Stock Exchange®.
Vendramini thinks not. First, he thought that they might have been covered with hair. What’s his evidence? The first part of his evidence is that there is no evidence that they could make clothing of anything more than the most basic “throw an animal skin over your shoulders” type. So, how do you keep warm?
Hair. Hair is the norm for mammals in the world, except for people (sorry, Italians). So Danny (sorry, Vendramini is too many letters to type again and again) came to the logical conclusion that, like other primates, Neanderthals inhabiting Europe and the Near East would be quite hairy.
Pretty much no one argues that Neanderthal was about six times as strong as modern man, or even of the beta version of homo sapiens that existed at that time, so about a 431 times stronger than a typical soy-latte-based ambisexual® Leftist.
But Neanderthal wasn’t just strong, he was smart. Neanderthals made things, like spears. Like stone blades. Like stone axes. Hmm, I’m seeing a pattern here. I don’t see any mochachinos.
Based on the size of their eyes, Danny thinks they were huge. What needs huge eyes? Things that hunt in low light. So, Vendramini thinks that Neanderthals might have been low-light, nocturnal predators. What else would low-light nocturnal predators have? An amazing sense of smell, so there’s no reason to have a nose like ours – a nose like a pug.
And eyes? The most efficient eyes for low-light hunting are slit-pupil eyes – like a cat. The brow ridge? It shielded the eyes during the day – and the eyes were much higher than a normal human, like where our forehead is. So, huge eyes in the forehead with slit pupils. Not scary, right?
Okay, I’ve finally found something scarier than my ex-wife.
Oh, every bit of evidence says that Neanderthal ate meat, so he was a carnivore. But he also ate . . . Neanderthals. So, he was a cannibal. Eating puny humans? That’s pretty easy if you’ve eaten Neanderthal. Probably more tender, too.
Neanderthal lived in the forest. Oh the forest, my dear, is lovely, dark and deep . . . . One anthropologist described Neanderthal as this: wolves with knives. So imagine that there are wolves in your neighborhood that are at least six times stronger than Arnold Schwarzenegger at his peak. And they are as smart as a human. And they have knives.
Think that might help you sleep at night?
So, our ancestors, say, 50,000 years ago were wonderfully happy, living in a world where they were the king. It was Eden-like. Garden-like. Hmm.
Anyway, one day they wander across a border and find? Neanderthals that want to eat them. Or, make babies with them. Yup, they could make babies with humans, and between 1-3% of your DNA comes from nocturnal, cannibal, predators, unless your DNA is entirely from Africa.
So, when a Neanderthal group of hunters found a human group, it was the equivalent of a college party: sex and food. I’m not sure what order makes it better.
This, of course, baked our noodles. It made it necessary for us to become smarter. Vendramini suggests that this was the stepping out of the Garden which required us to have the knowledge, skills and brainpower to fight the Neanderthal, to beat them, and to become much better.
Does one hate the stone that hones us? I think not. Note: my beard is better, but my abs need work.
It describes the Uncanny Valley in many respects. What are the myths of our monsters? Werewolves and vampires and cannibals and (Biblically) the Men of Renown (look it up). It also explains our instinctive fear of the dark, where the huge, strong, cannibal near-human that can smell you from two counties over might be hiding waiting to get frisky or to turn you into a snack.
But we fought back. The mark of a conquering civilization is the Y-chromosome, because, well, dudes give that part. As I read it, the Y-chromosome in humanity is, human. In the end, we won. But they changed us even as we eliminated them. It’s likely we did our own collective punishment and killed off all human males that looked too much like the enemy – too Neanderthal. So, yeah, collective punishment.
And this also provides an explanation for the Uncanny Valley, and why it is generally the source of the ultimate horror and fear that humanity feels. But we won.
There’s drinking, fighting, and death and drinking and fighting. I think this is an insurance company’s nightmare.
As Western Civilization fades, the barriers to collective punishment fade as well. So, sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight . . .
And we’ll win again.
I like your writing across the broad range of topics. And for an almost new topic, this is a great article. Is your meme caption, “Does one hate the stone that hones us? I think not.” A quote or an original thought? I was looking for some context, but if previously written, it seems it’s author skipped his SEO course. Thank you for your take on the world — and for taking it on.
As far as I know, that phrase is all mine. Thank you so much for the kind words!!!!
Have read an article or two on the same line of thought. I’d say that they took us for granted and got lazy or possibly inbred too much. But, in the end we became more clever and smarter. We invented Junk Food® and PEZ™ and donuts that were left for them to devour. Heart disease and diabetes ensued. Then, we gave them MTV, which rotted their intellect.
Game over within 3 generationx.
And if they can turn foxes from wild to tame in just a few generations via artificial selection, you have to wonder what future we’re setting ourselves up for . . .
Re: the Amish meme, at their schools if you screw up you still get a whipping right there at school. None of this sissy suspension crap.
I’ve never been to an Amish school, but I was at the tail-end (pun intended) of the spanking wave. And I deserved every single one of them. I was awful.
Hi John – Great post! Very enlightening, at least for me. I’d never heard of the Uncanny Valley before, but it certainly makes sense.
On that note, I have to point out an error because it’s REALLY bugging me! Right there at the end of the post ” So, sleep with one eye open, holding your pillow tight . . .” Dude, if you’re gonna quote Metallica, ya gotta quote it correctly. It’s “…GRIPPING your pillow tight.” LOL Rock on!
Glad you enjoyed! And, quote fixed. I’m now wondering if I owe Lars money?
Finished reading Them+Us last week. It was a thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking book. Certainly recalibrated my way of thinking about early human development. The Neanderthals were a tough species.
They were, and lasted a very long time in a very, very difficult series of environments. I guess everything (including us) was on the menu . . .
The black, fur covered “Neanderthal” in that depiction is nowhere NEAR the uncanny valley.
For the uncanny valley theory to cover it, they’d have to be very similar, not very different.
His book might be fine reading, I will give it a try because I’m trying to write an alt-history-fantasy story with Neanderthals and I’ve been looking for a good way to distinguish them from the Sioux. But… We have the Neanderthal genome mapped. They didn’t have lemur-like eyes or thick fur.
You might also wish to look at their artifacts again.
I’ll let Danny defend his own points on the cat eyes and thick fur – I thought it was a fascinating take. I guess we have 80% of the genome of Neanderthal in individual humans here and there (that was the last number I saw), but each of us (out of Africa folks) was 1%-2.5% Neanderthal. Keep in mind that as they influenced our genetics, we changed theirs, too. Did we look more like them, thus uncanny enough?
Let me know when you get your story out!!!
between 1-3% of your DNA comes from nocturnal, cannibal, predators, unless your DNA is entirely from Africa
Odd, innit, that “nocturnal, cannibal predators” very neatly describes those remnants living among us whose DNA is entirely (or nearly so) from Africa?
Yeah, I know, John Wilder. You make a career of stepping discreetly around the racial third rail, but someone had to say it.
Actually, there is evidence of another hominid in sub-Saharan African genetics, as well – just not Neanderthal or Denisovan and in fairly high percentages. I believe that they’re at the front end of that genetic discovery, though I’m not sure people are interested in looking too deeply there.
The odd thing is that races with a higher general percentage of Neanderthal (et al.) ancestry tend to be smarter.
It is my belief that we beat the Neanderthals by becoming not merely hunters and raiders, but warriors. We eventually became both more organized and more dangerous. This also explains the ancient rites of manhood, almost all of which require the subject to endure pain, humiliation or deprivation silently. Self control (discipline) separates the men from the not-men. (Cue Dune’s Gom Jabbar test.)
I think so. We had to develop a warrior ethos and culture to prevail. I think they’re gone because we decided enough was enough and killed them all.
Collective punishment like when you ship the bulk of the US Oil Reserves to China and “Give” us a vacation from Federal Fuel Taxes while ever growing the deficit by robbing the IRS from those taxes.
Or you force your allies in the EU to stop buying Russian fuels and then ship OUR Fuel over there to support them, supporting the sanctions.
Welcome to ever climbing fuel cost (and shortages) for the collective Americans.
I wonder what the cost for heating oil and propane will be for Americans this winter.
But must support the Proxy War against Russia!
Collective punishment indeed.
Me, in following Sido’s intelligent comment on WRS about “what you do Today will separate the living from the dead in the coming time “O Troubles: (Great Quote, BTW) I have being delivered this afternoon two more years of firewood for my exercise program of stacking it for seasoning and waiting for 400 more watts of solar to add to the existing solar array.
As that song says “Get ready for here it comes”
I wonder what condiments American should add to Aesop’s shit sandwich comment when I asked him to remind me how important that Russia is having some trouble with India’s LPG deliveries and our country is aflame.
It appears that accepting one NPC chip like the magic powers of masks or a 6th month old human in the womb is not human or that U.S. troops and assorted predatory companies can turn Iraq into Germany (mea culpa) creates a slot in your brain for the next chip.
Look to your “chips” with care as it’s all gaslighting all the way down. People loyalties before political loyalties is the only recourse.
See also the Dunbar number (truly brilliant post, Mr. Wilder)
Thank you! Yeah, that was fun to research and hypothesize on. Humans are interesting.
Biden should have logos on his jacket like a race driver so we can keep track of who owns him.
I’ve watched some television shows that speculate Neanderthals were what was here, and a crashed interstellar craft presented humans to Earth. It’s interesting, but I like to think it was actually a prison ship, and the occupants were left to their “hell” away from technology. Over time, their intellect overwhelmed the Neanderthals, and they were exterminated to acquire resources. Unfortunately, some escaped, and Congress is filled with their descendants.
Ha! I can also imagine how early humans in that scenario would have had difficulty because there wasn’t a Starbucks.
Not to mention no telephones to clean.
You never cease to surprise me with your AMAZINGLY well written observations. I clicked through to your referenced article, and found it to be equally absorbing. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed them. I really do enjoy thinking this stuff through and sharing it.
Overall, this is sound: our ancestors who survived to breed had a split second to determine “friend or foe.”
From a more granular level, I think the adaptation carries through to much more recent genetic variation.
However it’s late here. I’ll try to put something coherent together in a day or two.
Clayton, always appreciate your thoughts! I’d love to hear more.
In robotics, the “R2D2” style is just human enough to be “cute”. The “C3PO” style is human enough to simply be regarded as human. In between, I’m thinking that a resident of the Uncanny Valley looks enough like a human to be regarded as a “damaged human”, perhaps damaged by infection (e.g. smallpox, elephantiasis, etc.) And so, it’s just safer to keep a distance.
Yes – in a similar way we find evidence of good genetics (symmetric features, clear skin) beautiful . . .
Wait…of all the wonderful condiments available to modern man, you picked Miracle Whip?!
I thought it sounded the most silly.
I thought some DNA researchers used to say Neanderthals had blue eyes and red hair. Or is that so yesterday?
I’ve heard the red hair was potentially (sounds like there are several ways to get it), but that blue eyes were really recent, say only 8,000 years back.
The description of Neanderthal man seems very much like what Sasquatch has been described as.
re — cgi
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A couple evenings ago, the big-screen in the lobby of the gym was showing sports programming — Frisco Giants vs somebody else.
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During a distance-scan of the stadium, the programming showed every blurred seat filled, to the top and out to the bleachers.
Walking past, I casually mentioned “That whole thing looks like cgi…”
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A fellow on the couch responded with “I was thinking the same thing.”.
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re — Neanderthal DNA
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According to genome testing, I carry significantly more Neanderthal DNA than most people of Northern European Heritage.
I am about 13% (thirteen percent) compared to our usual of about 3% (three percent).
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I harbor a strong distrust of any claim we are ‘extinct’.
Based on the evidence, that allegation is wildly inaccurate.
Yeah, I’ve read that 80% of the Neanderthal DNA is still in circulation.
To the best of my knowledge Danny Vendramini’s theory is considered as lunatic fringe/pseudoscience by pretty much everyone with knowledge of the subject. Over the years the evidence seems to keep mounting up that the Neanderthals were very much like modern humans. I’d be very leery of taking anything he says seriously.
That’s probably right. But it does take speculation to move the ball, and in his defense, much of his work came before a lot of the recent DNA analysis, heck, it was before we even knew that their DNA was still alive in us.