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burnunit

Published Letters: 133
Editor's Choice: 6

Saturday, May 20, 2006 08:11 AM

would you ask your lover to do it? would you want them to?

I think that's a crucial thing, too. Lots of "long suffering" spouses and lovers (I see long suffering a lot, and while I wish I had a lot more sex than I do, I don't know if I'm actually Suffering. Aren't the people of Darfur suffering? Am I just not getting laid?) might want their partners to have more sex drive. But I bet they would be very very uncomfortable a) broaching this subject, b) finding out their lover uses it. We want to be wanted, and knowing it's "just the drugs talking" would make a lot of us deeply uncomfortable. Turned off, even. I'm sure as hell not thinking it's a good idea to say, "Hey honey. THey have this new inhalant that makes you want to have sex. Maybe we can talk about getting some." Ugh.

Friday, October 13, 2006 09:10 AM

lingering questions

Why do birds have wings? To fly with. And that's a Darwinian translation of the evolutionary process whereby the birds that had wings survived better than the birds without.

What is the evolutionary purpose of the brain's complexity and "the power of the brain to knock up illusions"? What is the evolutionary purpose of intelligence itself? Do multiple intelligences (let's say for example, kinesthetic/doing, logical/knowing, etc.) exist and if so do they serve evolutionary purposes? In part or as a whole?

Do human animals survive better or worse because they know things? (If fire is possible to manufacture, fire cooks food, cooking kills harmful bacteria, can it be said there is an evolutionary purpose to knowledge of fire? and knowing in general?)

Do human animals survive better because they can do things? (If people can run fast, climb, dodge and use their muscles, they might outrun bears or make a spear and kill the bears instead, act to remove the bear's hide and survive the winter, can it be said there is an evolutionary purpose in doing?)

Do human animals survive better or worse because they believe things? What evidence presently supports or disproves the possible answers to that question?

What is the evolutionary purpose of the study of cosmology?

What has been the evolutionary purpose of belief as a general thing? If there is a chemical process or neural repository of "god feelings", what is its evolutionary purpose? Does evidence suggest or prove that resistance to or explanation(s) of belief feelings has meant that persons who have released them survive better than persons who retain these beliefs?

What might be or have been the evolutionary purpose of belief(s) in a specific personalized diety or dieties? Is such belief itself a "mistake" of the evolutionary process, slowly being evolved away by growing numbers of persons who hold no belief? Is the growth of competing beliefs a function of evolutionary processes? If not, how does the human animal--or by what mechanism--does the human animal's survival as a species result? Is belief something in spite of the evolutionary pressure of one possible purpose or another? Is belief the result of some kind(s) of evolutionary pressure?

Monday, December 18, 2006 03:34 PM

negative all around

If, according to the letter writer, the BF is uncomfortable with both MFF and MMF threesomes, well, shoot. That just ain't normal! Real Men(tm) would hardly balk at the pleasures of two women, would they?

Isn't this well established fact and supported by thousands of years of evidence?? (http://www.salon.com/feb97/columnists/paglia970218.html) Ha!

Cary is right; the letter writer has my sympathies; and there's at least one other terrific advice columnist who would sum this up even more succinctly: DTMFA!

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