Re: Captain Picard: Future Scalp of Humanity?

Lee Daniel Crocker (lcrocker@calweb.com)
Tue, 28 Jan 1997 12:51:40 -0800 (PST)


> Also of a greater influence, fewer deaths caused by skin cancer over time
> due to colder climates and heavy head-covering clothing could contribute to
> the evolution of baldness.

I'm not aging, I'm evolving; yeah, that's it. Seriously, though, wouldn't
the cultural associations of hair type with sexual attractiveness
overwhelm any small environmentally adaptive effect baldness might have?
Zahavi makes a good case that attractiveness cues evolve faster precisely
because they /are/ handicaps.