The Thinking Blog ~ Knowledge Grows When Shared!

The path of human evolution has been anything but a straight line from past to present. Much like a growing tree or a flowing river, branches and tributaries appear off the main trunk and either thrive, or taper off and peter out. When the game is survival of the species, evolutionary adaptations are mercilessly judged by nature, red in tooth and claw.

Evolution is also punctual in character. Change is often sudden, provoked by a beneficial mutation or a rapid change in the environment. When we look at the human family tree, all of the aforementioned trends can be seen. Neanderthal Man appears, thrives for a time in the glaciated terrain of prehistoric Europe, then fades out just as modern man appears on the scene. Further back in time, a plant-eating hominid called Australopithecus Boisei branched out from the main Australopithecine line. Robust in frame with huge teeth and mighty jaws, A. Boisei was perfectly adapted for lush, tropical conditions with abundant flora... until the climate changed and the flora died off. The gentle giants did likewise.

Specialized adaptations like the Neanderthal's ruggedness and A.Boisei's plant-eating were exceptions to the general trend of human evolution - that being an increase in brain size and a corresponding reduction in jaw size. This trend is coded in our genes, but is still subject to the influences of environment and mutation. This brings us to a group of skulls and skeletal remains found in the early years of the 20th century, in a part of South Africa known as Boskop. Could it be that in this isolated African backwater, a genetic mutation appeared that jumped human evolution ahead... not just by a page or two, but by several chapters?






One might think that a brainier, presumably smarter human population would make mincemeat out the local carnivores while out-competing any "normal" Homo Sapiens who ventured into their territory. Not necessarily. A sudden shift towards a futuristic physiognomy - without the accompanying societal, mechanical and technological framework needed to support it - would have left the Boskopoids much like babes in the woods. Balancing oversized heads on slim, gracile bodies, they would be at a pronounced disadvantage when running down prey - or running away from predators.

A scientific analysis of the Boskop fossils, "Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence," was recently published by Gary Lynch and Richard Granger, neuroscientists from the Dartmouth Brain Engineering Laboratory. A more poetic reflection on Boskop Man entitled "Man of the Future" was written in 1958 by science writer Loren Eiseley as a chapter of his larger volume, "The Immense Journey". It makes for intriguing reading, as the following excerpt indicates:

"The man of the future came, and looked out among us once with wistful, if unsophisticated eyes. He left his bones in the rubble of an alien land. If we read evolution aright, he may come again in another million years."

Was Boskop Man, a man out of time... stranded in a rough, predatory world without the tools needed to master it. Or is there another possibility, one which demands you open your mind to things that fly in the face of what we've so far taken for granted.

What if the Boskopoids not only survived, but thrived? What if they used their advanced intelligence to "leave the cradle", as it were. Where would they go? Well, the universe is a big place. If they left Earth for bigger and better things, one might assume they would leave as little trace of themselves as possible out of respect for their more primitive yet upcoming cousins - us.

All right, if you've taken this leap of faith, consider what it means and where it leads. Boskop Man suddenly appeared, used his big brain and superior intelligence to create a technology so advanced that it allowed them to leave the Earth entirely, but... would they forget the place of their birth so easily? Consider what a Boskopoid would look like: huge, rounded heads, big wide eyes set into small, child-like faces - sound familiar? To paraphrase FDR, "we have met the aliens, and they are us!"

I will admit, the curious combination of facts and speculation in this article read like something out of a sci-fi fantasy. It's much more likely that the remains of Boskop Man represent only a few members of prehistoric modern Homo Sapiens whose cranial capacities are at the far upward limits of the average. However - stranger things have happened and the current level of our archeological knowledge is by no means the be all and end all. The recent discovery of tiny "hobbit" humans on the Indonesian island of Flores is a perfect example. So keep an open mind, and remember... nothing is impossible, only improbable.

Article by Steve Levenstein from Inventor Spot. Submit your thoughts - click here!

Polygamy, on the other hand, is when a woman or man is married to more than one spouse. Polygamy is a term which is most often used when describing how a man is married to more than one woman. This description is incorrect because the concept of polygamy means a situation where either a man or woman is married to more than one spouse. The situation where the man or woman is married to more than one spouse can be sorted into different sociological categories and concepts. These include how a man can be married to more than one woman (polygyny) and how a woman can be married to more than one man (polyandry).

Polyandry in human relationships occurs or has occurred in Tibet, the Canadian Arctic, Zanskar, Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, the Nymba, and Sri Lanka, and is known to have been present in some pre-contact Polynesian societies, though probably only among higher caste women. It is also encountered in some regions of Mongolia, among the Mosuo people in China, and in some Sub-Saharan African and American indigenous communities. In other societies, there are people who live in de facto polyandrous arrangements that are not recognized by the law .

Sociologist Hilmi Ziya Ülken made the following statements about the prevalence of polygamy and monogamy;

"Male dominance since the evolution of primitive societies and his first class distinction being his gender distinction have meant that the single husband framework has proved its sovereignty. However in some places, distinctive economic circumstances and in other places, certain historical periods, have all brought about a framework of marrying many husbands. This is apparent in the Fratri region of Australia."

Although historically many societies witness single husband marriages, many women have married more than one man due to the geographical conditions and economic problems. For example; When there was limited land for usage in Tibet, a group of brothers all married the same woman. By marrying the same woman they were able to produce fewer children and avoid a split in their future inheritance. Consequently they were able to establish financial security to a certain degree.

Aneta was 17 when her ordeal began. She was promised a job as an au pair to an affluent family when she decided to leave her Czech village and cross borders. She was recruited by Petr, a handsome man who promised that she would travel with them to London or even America. "You'll get to practice your English," he joked. The next day Aneta joined ten other local girls who handed over their passports and followed Petr into a life of ruins and defilement. Hours later instead of being welcomed by smiling families, they were greeted by a group of burly men who possessed guns and savage dogs. The girls, some of them as young as 14, were then forced into a room, stripped naked and pushed into a line. The men moved up and down, along the line and handled the girls roughly. They inspected their teeth, breasts and the areas between their legs. “We were just horseflesh” Aneta recalled. Each girl was flung across the room and gang raped. Within the next few days all of them were smuggled across Europe to work in brothels.

In May 2005 the gendarme in Yaounde scattered a prostitution ring that had recruited young boys who were claimed to be there for soccer training. The boys were promised the opportunity to play in prestigious clubs across Europe but ended up sported into child prostitution. From the five members of the organization (composing of five members), three were caught and the other two went into hiding.

In Singapore an increasing number of girls offer sexual intercourse upon Internet chat-rooms. Although the situation is less dire than in Japan, social workers cite cases of girls as young as 13 having no qualms over substituting paid sex for household pocket money.

In generic terms child prostitution means the use of a child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other form of consideration, including food, housing, drugs or other commodities or intangibles such as approval or care. It is an ancient and global problem. Child prostitution can be found in both developed and developing countries. Be it voluntary or coercive, the rise of child prostitution shows a reflection of how society’s morals have degenerated and how the possession of money, authority or power can be abused to cause destruction.

It is almost impossible to stem out this societal problem because of an overlap of certain factors and other discrepancies. Voluntary willingness from children to exchange sex for tangible benefits, reflect a society where the sanctity of the physical intimacy has been torn apart by our very own assets. On the other hand menacing behavior on part of the perpetrators, expose the degradation of society’s morality.

We can only hope that stricter governmental protection can be implemented for children, so that they are educated and hence protected from devious individuals. In a world increasingly being defined by power, authority and money, any excesses will just spark the beginnings of a collapse in morals.

So, what was the most awful experience you had when you were 10 years old?

Commonly known as the Kinkaku-ji, the so-called "Golden Temple" is actually an outbuilding of the Rokuon-ji temple. It is also known as the Golden Pavilion or in Japanese, "Kinkaku" where "Kin" means "gold". The original building was constructed in the year 1397 under the patronage of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and has been maintained until this day by the resident monks.







Over 1.5 million people visit Kinkaku-ji every year and the pavilion's structure and surrounding grounds have been branded as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is no "best time" to pay a visit - each season brings its own unique flavor. The vivid greens of Spring and Summer, the reds and ochres of Autumn and perhaps most especially Winter's light sprinkles of brilliant white snow all complement and enhance the luminous glow and harmonious lines of this truly exceptional structure.









Although Kinkaku-ji may appear to display an ethereal and timeless beauty, its history has not always been so serene. Tragedy struck in 1950 when a schizophrenic monk driven by voices that hated beauty, decided burn it to the ground. The story of the monk named Hayashi Yōken was told in novelist Yukio Mishima's notorious semi-fictional book "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" and was first published in English in 1959. The monk was captured and imprisoned (where he was interviewed by Mishima) after bragging about his crime to a prostitute. His mother who was unable to bear the shame committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a train. Yōken was released from prison in 1955 due to his illness and died a year later. By that time the restoration of the Golden Temple into its original specifications was already in full swing.









Reconstruction of the pavilion took many years of painstaking labor. The trademark gold leaf coverings on the upper floors were not completed until 1987 and their application was fraught with difficulty as only a few craftsmen were trained in such a specialized field. It was not until 2003 that the roof of the restored pavilion (which features a stylized golden phoenix perched at the nave) was finished to appease the satisfaction of the temple's monks.






The main problem the restorers encountered was in applying the exceptionally delicate gold leaf. Though only a mere five-10,000ths of a millimeter thick, it still took some 200,000 individual gold foils weighing a total of 20 kilograms (44 lbs.) to cover the pavilion's upper floors. Applying the foils was a painstaking chore that forced workers to hold their breaths for fear of wrinkling the surface through the impact of their exhalations! What's more, parts of the process had to be repeated when it was found that the exceedingly thin, one-10,000ths of a millimeter thick foils used in the 1950s had begun to peel away from the underlying structure.









These days, maintenance of the Golden Temple's exquisite visage is entrusted to one single man: 67-year-old Takesato Yagyu. You can read about Yagyu's devoted dedication to the Kinkaku-ji in detail right here. According to Yagyu the pavilion's original gold decorations were not rigorously maintained and after more than 500 years, little gold leaf was left. In this respect it can be said that the modern restoration of this iconic symbol of Japan has returned the Kinkaku-ji's appearance of the 14th century rather than 1949 (the year before the arson attack). After viewing the Golden Pavilion in all its restored glory, lit up and glowing serenely on a warm and fragrant Kyoto evening, I don't think anyone can argue against that!

Article by Steve Levenstein from Inventor Spot. Steve writes about weird and wonderful Japanese innovations on a regular basis and you can catch up on current & previous examples at his blog. Submit your thoughts - click here!