MODERN HUMANITY

© MMXIX V.1.0.7
by Morley Evans

Battle of Stamford Bridge 1066 (a melee)

Dear Barbara,

Nature or Nurture?

I get messages with health advice every day. Most of them have to do with regrowing hair, satisfying women, and losing weight.

I have tried several things to regrow hair. I tried Rogaine®. Nothing worked until I found one that does actually regrow hair.

Most things offered to satisfy women actually would satisfy men, if they worked. They don’t. I haven’t found anything, yet, but I don’t care. 

Satisfying women has almost nothing to do with satisfying men. Most men and women don’t know that. Wives who are "too tired" or who "have a headache" know they are missing something but they don't know exactly what. If they knew they would never be "too tired." Men need to learn how to satisfy women. They can learn at any age.

Losing weight is an obsession with modern people. We eat the wrong things and we are sedentary. Ansel Keys caused more harm to more people than anyone else I can name, including Hitler.

Counting calories is a complete waste of time. Reducing or eliminating saturated fat is harmful. We want to eat grass-fed red meat — beef. We want to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Our food has been tampered with by ignorant do-gooders and greedy marketers.

Like cholesterol levels, blood pressure targets are continually changed to encourage consumption of pharmaceutical drugs to “solve the problem.”

Are people today much weaker than our ancestors? They are. Genetics has nothing to do with it. A genetic change takes about a million years. Adaptation happens very quickly as we will see below.

Alexander’s army arrived in India from Greece on foot in 327 BCE. It had defeated major armies along the way. People today couldn’t walk to Moose Jaw from Regina on the paved highway in a week. 

Moose Jaw is about 60 miles from Regina. Walkers would travel ten miles a day and have sleep-overs each night. Along the way, walkers would probably need a day's rest to recover from blisters, cramps, and exhaustion. They would need meals and refreshments. Don't forget the porta-potties. First aid stations would be required. Sideline cheerleaders would provide motivation with banners and balloons.

In 1066 Harold’s Anglo-Saxon army marched from the south of England to York where it slaughtered a large invading Norwegian army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. They marched with full battle gear 450 185 miles in 4 days. They took the Norwegians completely by surprise. (The Norwegians were exhausted from a previous battle, resting, and unarmed when the Anglo-Saxons attacked.) Then the Anglo-Saxons marched back to the Battle of Hastings. They lost there, not because they were tired. 

Let's check that: 185 miles divided by 26 miles is seven marathons. Could anyone today run seven marathons non-stop — wearing and carrying their battle gear? Could they slaughter another army in hand-to-hand combat after they arrived and then turn around and repeat the whole thing when they were finished? The Anglo-Saxon army of Harold Godwinson didn't do the first stage in 7 days — which is the time in which most modern people could not walk to Moose Jaw from Regina. THEY DID IT IN FOUR DAYS.

What about the vaunted U.S. Navy SEALS? Don't make me laugh.

Nobody today could do these things. Olympic athletes could not do them. Unlike modern professional athletes and soldiers who train every day, Harold's army was comprised of farmers, like all medieval armies. Don’t be disappointed when you can’t lose weight, or walk to Moose Jaw. I will love you anyway.

We are completely different from our ancestors. Now, everyone can drive to Moose Jaw in an hour. Anyone can fly from Athens to Mumbai in a few hours — just buy a ticket. They won't even be tired. In a thousand years, people will be completely different from us. We are not even the same as our grandparents.

Despite this, some things do not change. Love makes the world go 'round. Love makes life worth living. Babies and children promise hope and a good future. The Decalogue will continue to be useful. Wars will be fought.

My grand nephew at one month

- Morley

EDIT: This is a major correction. Assuming the history is correct, the Anglo-Saxon army of King Harold managed to run seven marathons in four days. Upon arriving it slaughtered the Norwegian (Viking) army in hand to hand combat. Then it returned to fight the Norman army (they were Vikings too) at Hastings. This is probably true because the Normans won at Hastings and they wrote history to glorify themselves, not the Anglo-Saxons who were unsung heroes.

I muddled up the run to Moose Jaw from Regina by confusing my earlier fitness with what I could do now. The distance to Moose Jaw from Regina is 60 miles. A marathon is 26 miles. So, 2.3 marathons would be needed to get to Moose Jaw from Regina. Runners could have two sleep-overs. Three days would be required. 

It is debatable whether anyone today would do this, but someone might. It is very unlikely that anyone would, or could, run seven marathons in four days. We must conclude that people a thousand years ago were much stronger than we are today. Over two thousand years ago, Alexander's Hellenistic Greeks were even stronger. Goodby, U.S. Navy SEALS. 

Someone on Quora wondered if the U.S. Marines could defeat a Roman Legion. I don't think so. The Romans would find a way to get around modern weapons to get inside the lethal range. They would win close-quarter combat every time. They knew how to do that.