Facial Hair

[Deepwater6]

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140926-are-hairy-faces-less-evolved

 

The puzzle of why humans have so much skin exposure has always bothered me. I read some time ago that northern hemisphere groups such as the inuits had the eyes set the way they were for an evolutionary reason. The article said the eyes were configured that way to deal with the glare off of the snow they hunt on. Made sense to me, but why would early cold region groups not evolve to keep their hair for warmth?

 

This article gives some possibilities why we shed so much hair. I have to admit I have never noticed if a person of color blushes though I expect they do, I just never took time to try and look for it. If we were looking to be scarier to our enemies of the past, dark body and facial hair seems more intimidating than slight changes in skin color. That's just my opinion though.

[HydrogenBond]

One simple answer is connected to the dynamics for why a female bird prefers the most colorful male bird. Her choice is not about the male being practical or functional in terms of survival. Rather it is all about a superficial image. The peacock looks impressive but does not need all that show, other than for the female. 

 

Here is a scenario, say the female pre-humans preferred hairless men, but not for the reason you might  think. The males with less hair or fur would be colder and more exposed to the sun and elements, so they need to learn to wear animal skins to compensate. These men use the skins for practical reasons, but the women only see the color these skins offer and react to that. 

 

Dress for success is less about go and more about show. You don't need to dress well to be good at a job, but this is important to people who live on the surface. Often if one is dressed well many just assume this means utility in other things. 

 

Maybe when pre-humans began to have sex out of season for apes, natural selection changed from practical male choice more to superficial males; bling. 

Edited September 28, 2014 by HydrogenBond

[Foghorn]

Women like hair, God knows why.

 

I sure as heck don't.

[ErlyRisa]

Women like hair, God knows why.

 

I sure as heck don't.

Yep

 

but on a different avenue: Hair: The bushy-er you are...are you not also more able to wick water, AND run faster.

 

ie why are we told that "height" and skinless attributes to being a human are better for performance?, Isn't it so that if you are hairy that you are in effect a BETTER radiator: to keep you cool?

 

I say the reason we became hairless has more todo with laziness (sitting around the came fire) than anything todo with performance.

[pgrmdave]

 Isn't it so that if you are hairy that you are in effect a BETTER radiator: to keep you cool?

No - hair is an insulator, keeping warm air against the skin, and it is not kept warm by blood so it doesn't radiate heat on its own.

[ErlyRisa]

No - hair is an insulator, keeping warm air against the skin, and it is not kept warm by blood so it doesn't radiate heat on its own.

 

Is that why cats get puffed out

[CraigD]

Isn't it so that if you are hairy that you are in effect a BETTER radiator: to keep you cool?

No - hair is an insulator, keeping warm air against the skin, and it is not kept warm by blood so it doesn't radiate heat on its own.

Dave’s right, though we humans’ hair isn’t as effective at preventing heat loss as other primates, because we don’t have a high enough pore density and sufficiently dense fur coats.

 

Our head hair is the thickest and most effective on our bodies, but even then, only reduce heat transfer by about 28%. The hair elsewhere on our bodies, including thick facial hair, has a negligible effect.

 

Sources (subscription/institutional access required): http://jap.physiology.org/content/20/4/796 , http://jap.physiology.org/content/101/2/669

[ErlyRisa]

I think in cold climates the facial hair may actually help quite well (frost develops a sealed coat at the extremities) or (grease from food develops a sealed coat at extremities)

 

Back to the Cat though:

 

I wouldn't design hair/pores/skin as such in such a manner in the first place...our ancestors must have been using skin in a different manner.

 

(How far remote (genetically) is hair too feathers?)

[pgrmdave]

(How far remote (genetically) is hair too feathers?)

They're pretty similar structures,here are some good links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2736124/

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/11/11/the-origin-of-mammals-hair-is-found-in-reptile-claws/#.VJBLBTHF_OE

 

[ErlyRisa]

They're pretty similar structures,here are some good links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2736124/

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/11/11/the-origin-of-mammals-hair-is-found-in-reptile-claws/#.VJBLBTHF_OE

 

 

Wow, that's like a Platypus moment!

How weird.

 

I like what HydrogenBond is saying: Yep , bling...nothing has changed. Even chimps show off /cherish "prized" objects at times. (To a lesser degree: They seem more laid back)