From: Blunderov (squooker@mweb.co.za)
Date: Mon May 10 2004 - 01:44:50 MDT
[Blunderov] Apologies. I must correct what I posted earlier about 'neotonic'
being a new word. I now discover that it is a well known biological term and
means 'remaining in the larval stage'. (Apparently salamanders that remain
in the water instead of becoming truly amphibious are referred to as being
neotonic, for instance.)
Whilst I haven't had time to do more than skim the following link, it does
look interesting.
http://www.neoteny.org/a/sexualselection.html
<q>
"Christopher Badcock, a sociologist at the London School of Economics who
unusually combines an interest in evolution and an interest in Freud, has
proposed a similar idea. He suggested that neotonic (or, as he calls it,
"paedomorphic") traits were favored by female choice rather than male
choice. Younger males, he suggests, made more cooperative hunters, and
therefore females who wanted meat picked younger-looking men. The principle
is the same: Neotenic development is a consequence of a preference for it in
one sex." (Ridley 1993: 343, The Red Queen)
</q>
Best Regards
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