November 04, 2005

The other good thing about sex.
posted by Melinika 18 years ago
  • Well time for me to go exchange some genes and ensure the survival of the human race! (any excuse really)
  • I'm doomed, I tells ya! Doomed!
  • Humping your Girls of Canby Hall collection will help you none, layne!
  • They don't mean sex, they mean reproduction. Which, as moneyjane knows, are two different things.
  • Er, surely not mare? Isn't sex one kind of reproduction, and the kind that requires two different entities, hence the gene mix, hence the point of the article? This explanation is best viewed in the light of the fact that I don't know what I'm talking about. Also, what was the first good thing about sex?
  • I think mare meant "They don't mean sex, they mean sexual reproduction". Sex is not a kind of reproduction, it's an activity. Wait, I mean "Sexual intercourse isn't a kind of reproduction, it's an activity." 'Cause of course sex isn't sexual intercourse, it's gender. On second thought, I'm with you, abiezer. No idea what I'm talking about. As for good things about sex, maybe this will give you some ideas.
  • Another example of shite science reporting. Show me the scientist who has been "scratching their head" about the value of sexual reproduction and I'll show you someone who bought their science degree from a spam-o-versity.
  • "Sex? Nye!"
  • Guess the basis of those ideas is that sexual reproduction gives an advantage to the offspring, due to the mixing of momma and poppa's biological cocktails. So it wont' help any of us even if we have sex 24/7, but our kids and their kids will have a chance in a more diverse, prepared immune system. mmh, 24/7 sex. Well, it can't hurt, can it? And the first good thing about sex is: you get to sleep like a baby afterwards.
  • And the first good thing about sex is: you get to sleep like a baby afterwards. Sounds like a typical guy thing (and not being a typical guy, I don't enjoy that particular benefit... at least I don't remember doing so in the days before I became asexual... which makes me wonder if that's the reason I became asexual...) Unless by "sleep like a baby", you mean waking every two hours with a wet diaper... Besides, after the baby is born, most people don't get much sleep (and many don't get much sex). Why am I rambling on like this? BECAUSE I CAN'T GET TO SLEEP.
  • This guy is stating the obvious, with pop science to back it up. And what's up with the random Godot reference?
  • Agreed with rogerd and Weezel, not a great article but I would like to mention two things: 1) the article contains frequent use of the word "sex" 2) I put the word "but" in bold. Heh. Butt. Um . . and the third thing iisss . . . Montana?
  • As long as there aren't any coerced donations...
  • And what's up with the random Godot reference? It's to make him look smarter.
  • Fish tick, would that be this kind of donations or the usual coerced donations?
  • Promiscuous sex is good for monkeys, apparently. Poor, poor disease-ridden monogamous monkeys. While I was trying to find that article, which seems to be out of archive now, I found this. Spooky, no?
  • So, the point is that due to sex there are many slightly different versions of the Human Being out there. Some of these will naturally survive the Bird Flu thingy that may or may not get us (resist the Media Hype!) one of these years. The real point is that after the Apocalypse those who have been Left Behind will have the winning genetics, and, therefore, should fuck like rabbits. This has always been a key feature of my favorite world-wide disaster fantasies. The problem will be if the anti-bird-flu genetics are also the ugly-to-the-bone genetics.
  • Why is it that essentially any coverage of bird flu just adds to the scare? I believe the paranoia has in fact reached that critical level at which any real-life scenario that a person has a chance of surving will be underwhelming. Moreover, I find the symbolism of the whole thing with respect to US-China relations to be hilarious. Take reasonable counteractive measures and get over it already. Oh wait we live in a "culture of FEEEAAAARR". BOO!
  • I too noticed the fear. I think it's a 9/11 allergic reaction, actually. Or, more probably, a post cold-war allergic reaction. Before the cold war ended, there was this nice hulking doomsday scenario hanging over our heads that was very real and very possible and very comforting. Smallpox epidemic? Eh, no big deal as I'm sure we'll all nuke ourselves to death before that ever happens. Global warming? Ditto. Peak Oil? Natch. It was comforting, because all those really scary things in life could be easily compared to the doomsday scenario, and they wouldn't seem so scary anymore. But now there's no more close-at-hand doomsday scenario, and so people jump at the smallest things to comfort them with impending doom. 9/11 didn't help matters much, becuase it proved that you could just one day go to work, and some whackos would plow a plane into your office. Anthrax in the mail? Panictime! Get me some Cipro! Mad Cow Desease? Panictime! Chicken only diet! West Nile Virus? Panictime! I love the smell of Malathion in the morning! Avian Flu? Panictime! Quick, to the Tamiflu-mobile! And, as usual, in every case the panic-stricken mob creates more problems then NOT panicking would. Cipro has nasty side effects, and then stopping midcourse or even starting for no reason only helps breed resistant germs. Chickens are regularily fed rendered chicken, and the prion/chicken interactions are even more unknown then in beef. Seasonal Influenza remains a deadly killer a few orders of magnitude then West Nile, and if you love grandma, you'd get your kids all flu-shot up (but mostly we don't). And now we sit in the wake of the avian flu panic. So what's a rational person to do? Have more sex, or course. It's good for you, and your kids will have geneic variation that will protect them from H5N1.
  • Chickens are regularily fed rendered chicken... I imagine it's cheap...but what's the nutritional value of a pixel?
  • Alright, there are enough reasons now, I think I'm finally ready to have sex. My wife will be pleased.
  • Briefly.
  • ...and if you love grandma...(but mostly we don't). **lower lip quivers** Well, damn ye, I HAD my flu shot. So all you little monsters can just die, so there. Come here, my little Petebest. Give your lonely old GramMa a hug, my sweet little panda-puss