Re: [UUPoly-L] Love, Science & Other Subjects

["Michael Rios" <earthfather@cfnc.us>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Desmond Ravenstone
> 
> If science has shown us anything about human nature, it's that one size
> does not fit all.  Yes, the vast majority of people benefit from consuming
> cow's milk, but the fact that there are people like me who can become sick
> from consuming milk means that we can't impose it as universal.  Likewise,
> while a majority of people do best in lasting monogamous relationships,
> that is not the case for everyone; so even when statistics indicate that
> long-term monogamy is good for most, a broader scientific view reminds us
> that it is not good for all. 

I realize that neither of my comments here are relevant to the main points
you are making, neither could I let the two ideas presented above go
uncommented upon.

The vast majority of people do *not* benefit from cow's milk.  The studies I
have seen indicate that about 70% of Caucasians, and about 90% of
non-Caucasians, do not tolerate cow's milk well.  Some have lactose
intolerance; others are allergic to other components; and it makes *many*
people much more prone to upper respiratory infections.  

Interestingly, goat milk does not have this last-mentioned problem.  Each
mammalian species produces milk specifically designed for the young of that
species.  Cow's milk is chemically quite different from human milk, whereas
goat milk is relatively similar.

Likewise, there is no evidence that "a majority of people do best in lasting
monogamous relationships"-- if anything, there is much evidence to the
contrary, starting with a divorce rate that hovers around 50%, and estimates
that 80% of the marriages that *do* last are "minimally tolerable
arrangements", to quote one study.  That is, the only reason that they are
still married is family pressure, economic limitations, religious
prohibitions, etc.


Michael Rios