Cavemen and Modern Day Man: Are we that different?

It was one of the last few nights Imraan and I had together, marking the tail end of nearly three weeks of what had been a trying time, and in the end, a time that felt more comfortable than not. It was the time of year in Phoenix that three weeks meant the difference between debilitating heat and crisp desert nights.  And on this particular lovely evening, we sat at the dinner table clicking away at our respective computers. We should have been on the patio, taking in the late-summer breeze, but that’s beside the point.

“What are your thoughts on evolution?” Imraan asked me over the top of his screen.

I’ve not been very eloquent lately in my ability to regurgitate information from any number of articles I follow online, smart podcasts I regularly tune-into, or more often, thoughts I’ve formed shortly thereafter.  I responded with a grunt and a cop-out answer.

“I think it’s a thing.” I continued my focus on the computer, clicking away on my keyboard.

Imraan pressed, per the usual. “I want to know how you feel about it, sweets. What do you think happened in particular?” He switched his gaze from his laptop screen to me.

“I think… um… that it’s a real thing, yeah. That, you know… giraffes once had shorter necks and stretched to reach things up high. Eventually, over years and years, they adapted to their surroundings, developed more desirable traits… then all the sudden, they all had long necks…”

Imraan interjected, “Wrong! Let me tell you sweets, because I took a class on this, what really happened…”

I took a class on slapping you… I mumbled to myself.

… “You see, it’s not that the animals adapted to the surroundings, or that the humans adapted to the environments either. What happened, is that humans and animals that randomly were born with more environmentally or situationally desirable traits survived over the others! So, for instance, the horse that was randomly born with a long neck began to access food better than the other horses. Over time, it became what we know as a giraffe! It wasn’t that they evolved to get longer necks over time!”

I sat totally unamused, cross-legged at the table glaring at him. “So, let me get this clear… you asked for my opinion on evolution… just to tell me you knew the answer, and to make me feel like a moron?”

Imraan looked shocked. “No, sweets. No. I just thought it was an interesting point of note. I was reading here, you see...”

He went on for a while until we diverged onto a related topic, one I found quite interesting finally, which had us examining parts on our own bodies that assumedly used to be worthwhile, but that in the 21^st century seem ridiculous. I suggested fingernails. We don’t dig. Imraan suggested ear lobes and the appendix. Input from my friends and family – frequent blogger focus groups of two and three - brought arm-pit hair and facial hair into the mix. Personally, I’ve always regarded hair’s purpose as one to protect from dirt, dust, or in some cases to block sweat from vital parts (think eyebrows). But my peers bring up relevant points – from what are we protecting our arm-pits? Our cheeks and chins? And… ear lobes?

Has mankind evolved so little since cavemen that we still posses traits suited for digging and clawing? Maybe I should start digging and clawing again? Using my earlobes as devices to perhaps carry water buckets (they did recently remove water coolers from my office complex)?

I welcome input on other unneccesary body parts so I may also find a way to incorporate into my daily life. Pictures will inevitably ensue.