...ironic in that there is so much consternation about it and it's become a stalking horse for the real issues of individual liberty in modern societies. We are on the verge of seeing the process of driving in which a sober and responsible, trained and insured operator takes the lives of themselves and others into their hands to operate this dangerous machine on public infrastructure about to transform into a process where a computer directed conveyance (maybe your own or maybe a shared public or private vehicle) will arrive, accept your presence and direction...tell you how long you will take to get there, and off it will go). Sounds like a pipe dream but the alternative is a continuing nightmare of destruction, lost time, pollution and misbehavior at an expense society will just not bear for much longer especially now that the technology is so quickly becoming ubiquitous and fail safe (within' acceptible risks, while not zero are a hell of a lot better than they are now). But will Saudi women be allowed to ride in one alone or with men? A better question might be, will these new computer directed conveyances that will replace the automobile as we know it, be efficient enough that we can tell the Saudi royalty they can buy our water and food at $110 per bushel and that their oil must have been a real asset once upon a time, but if they want to belong to modern society they should act like one.

Because we really aren't all the same, which reflects our genetic diversity right down to how much we express our individual X and Y chromosomes and exactly what other little bits and pieces of the genetic mosaic floating about and flaunting in our lives, it's hard to be absolutely certain how any single individual to be, but it is clear that our genetic behaviors are preseved when they select for success. A woman will use her big brain box echo chamber to convince herself, her friends and her shrink that it's all about her father or some such nonesense....then usually pick the guy who expresses fitness by a unique array of characteristics, some instinctive (smell, antler size ahemmm..and status or even intelligence) and some cultural presumably. This is gives her a sense that she and her offspring (even if she's not going to have babies the same criteria come into play) will have a better chance of success. Conversely men are the same though obviously a man wants a woman with a long reproductive career ahead of her, and who has had less likelyhood of trauma to her system. She should have ample breasts or appear to have the potential for growth with fatty deposits in other areas, some associated with secondary sexual characteristics. He'll use his big brain box echo chamber just as the woman does but it comes down to reprocuctive fitness and the criteria is a mixed bag of instinct and culture...heavy on the instinct, rationalization and sometimes psychotherapy.

Aunties and Uncles are in the mix too but see their chance for genetic success through their siblings, neices' and nephews' success and by having as many disperse and widespread bondings as possible...and keeping the experience and equipment in fine fettle. So it's not just about "older men" or "younger women" but older men tend to have status and younger women tend to have better success in fertility...but what about older women and younger men? There's the real mystery and there is where we learn about love.

Wanna learn about humans? Study the monkeys.

I see a comment above from JohnnyRaven suggests, as an academic ,you check out the book "origins of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind". I would encourage you to do that as well. I would also suggest reading up on the renown veterinarian and high functioning autistic Dr.Temple Grandin from the work "Anthropologist on Mars". Our consciousness is not born fully formed out of the thigh of zeus but is the result of a long process of developement we are only now starting to connect and understand.

As I see a bit of this kind of behaviour in myown family, I have to wonder if being distraught about it doesn't actually worsen the condition's negative effects, whereas being open, understanding and engaging might help bring forward more positive expressions.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. Whatever the solution to the problem is, the broader our understanding the more likely we will be in managing it humanely.

I'm not a parent but come from a big family and am quite familiar with the old cloth diaper system and have changed many a baby with modern disposables. I'm a little apprehensive about all disposables because I do wish to be ecologically responsible...and one issue not really touched-on here is the introduction of human feces in the household waste stream, how it effects landfills and a wealth of other recyling and environmental health issues.

So I guess flushing in some ways makes more sense than tossin' 'em into the trash with our other stuff.

What I would love to see is a diaper that is designed to accept the waste and recycle it, neutralizing the negatives and result in a positive via composting and some sort of boosted or accelerated composting technology. I imagine a home composting system which could do that specifically for babies diapers and more and more for adult disposables too. I'm now a caregiver for a parent and I am fully aware of what the inevitable is. I wish for it to be dignified and also easy and ecologically responsible...hangups about poop be damned.