Oh I love this post because it ties two of my main interests — the human-animal relationship and the power of the internet together so well. Thank you! I can’t wait to talk about this more in class but just wanted to throw in a couple of things here: 1) the computer-internet is a technology but one of a fundamentally different sort than a “tool” (whether used by animal or human — and I loved the dolphin fishing article!). The internet puts the wisdom (and wisecracks) of a global network at your fingertips and makes any one individual “smarter” than their unplugged selves. 2) the relationship between brain size and intelligence is complicated (thankfully). Although I definitely support the humans as domesticates project, we need to be careful about making unilateral assertions about the brain size / intelligence issue. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/how-think-neanderthal/201309/does-brain-size-matter

The cow-human relationship is pretty intriguing! As for dogs and the broader question you pose about where domesticates would be without humans, what happens when you turn it around? Since we have co-evolved with our domesticates for such a long time, where would we be without them? What insight does Dunn offer as to how they have changed us?

Calvin and Hobbes definitely got this one right! I agree that Zeder’s theories about different “pathways” to domestication make so much sense. And by extension, it seems we should also resist the temptation to see domestication as an event that “happened” in the past. Dunn and Zeder both emphasize relationships of interdependence and interaction that are (always) dynamic. What happens if we think about domestication this way?

I’m not sure whether I agree with gene therapy for weight loss, but I don’t think it should be necessary. It’s pretty easy to see why we have a weight problem in this country. Our economic system has produced a ridiculous number of sources of food that difficult to resist (e.g., sugar, fat, salt) and very easy to obtain. I was reminded of this when I traveled to Orlando this week. I haven’t traveled outside the Virginia-Maryland-North Carolina region in a while, and the number of restaurants and food stores in northeast Orlando is astonishing in comparison to most places around here. Gene therapy would just be a means to circumnavigate the obvious problem of food availability and consumption created by our economic system.

I agree that desperation may have been a reason for the development of agriculture, but I am also skeptical that it’s the only reason. In my opinion, it wouldn’t have been difficult for ancient humans to observe plans growing an connect the dots that placing seeds in the ground, watering them, and giving them sun exposure causes them to grow. Sure, growing enough for entire populations is more challenging, but the I don’t see agriculture as being such a large hump for humans to get over in the process of their evolution.

I like your skeptical approach towards the theories presented. Your musings or objections are presented thoughtfully and clearly without being aggressive or overbearing (like mine often come off). Also, very punny…

The idea of gene therapy for weight loss is intriguing, and not solely for the massive market for such a product or therapy. You mention market for “lazy” ways to lose weight, which suggests such methods may be inherently bad or at least frowned upon. However, look at it from another angle: if we can use gene therapy to regulate obesity, we can use it to regulate all sorts of things, including previously untreatable genetic diseases. Now, because the market for a fat reducing gene therapy is so huge, it gives a huge financial incentive for such therapies to be researched and tested. If the only way to get gene therapy for cystic fibrosis is as an offshoot of the funding for lazy weight loss cures, I’ll take it!

As I think I’ve mentioned before, I know a few people who have used the Paleo diet (for a short term, not as a permanent lifestyle) as a way to lose weight and become healthier and were very successful, with no detrimental effects to their bodies. I actually have a Paleo cookbook at home because I like the creative use of vegetables as a healthier choice of side than, say, french fries. However it’s true that this can’t work for everyone, just as no formulaic diet can be generalized for everyone on the planet. When people choose their diet and lifestyle they need to keep in mind their individual needs and metabolism- as Dunn points out, everybody is a little bit different in how much they are able to process.

It would be interesting to look at the diets of cultures that do not include dairy as a staple in their diet, and compare their genetics to our own. For example, most east Asian dishes include very little milk or milk products, if any at all. I had never thought about this until I couple of years ago, when my family hosted a Thai student for a year. She was not lactose-intolerant, but if she ate the amount of milk or milk-products (cheese, ice cream, yoghurt) as her US peers, she would get sick. She told us she almost never ate dairy at home, because it wasn’t really a big part of her country’s diet. She was able to build up a tolerance, however, over the year that she spent with us, which I find interesting if most of our ability to process lactose is based on genetics.
I also wonder about the types of milk not from cows- how is our body affected by the milk and cheese from goats and llamas?

Her stealth and beauty were incredible. Loshy, powerful and graceful as he was, seemed almost clumsy by comparison. That time they decided to excavate the ice from the pond was hilarious! The time(s) they tangled with skunks – not so much.

It would be interesting to see if monkeys or other species of animals could be bred to develop or rely on their own technology and domesticates. I remember reading about dolphins developing and spreading new fishing techniques among themselves. I would be interested in seeing the results of any concerted effort to breed an animal for greater brain volume. http://phys.org/news/2011-08-ingenious-fishing-method-dolphins.html