Chapter 4 4. Why the Naked Ape

The moment when Adam and Eve tore off the fig leaf was the "beginning" of all human beings. The sun is still warm.The wind shuttled through the forest, and did not spread gossip.The flowers bloom excitedly or lonely, and the fish do not speak.The saber-toothed tiger strolled leisurely, as usual, startling the pheasants in the grass.Nothing has changed, only people have changed. Yes, human beings are so different.Birds have feathers, animals have fur, fish have scales, turtles have armor, and almost all animals are well-dressed.Only human beings are basically naked except for the head, genitals and underarms, and there is no grass growing.No wonder the British zoologist Morris called humans "naked apes".Such an ape is indeed unique.

Man, you stand out from the crowd in such a naked way, aren't you lonely? This is indeed a problem. In fact, humans originally had long hair, just like other primates.Primates are divided into three families: monkeys, apes, and humans.The difference between apes and monkeys is that they have no tail; the difference between hominids and apes is that they are hairless.It is hairless and tailless, but has subcutaneous fat, which is the only exception among more than 190 kinds of primates. Even other "naked friends" are few among the more than 4,200 species of mammals in existence.They are a handful of unusually large animals, such as rhinos and elephants; burrowing sleeper agents, such as moles and armadillos; and overwhelming aquatic athletes, such as hippos and dolphins.But all added up, they are also "minorities".Besides, rhinos and elephants still have tails.What's more, the living environment and way of life of these naked animals are still so different from human beings.

In fact, it is also good to have a tail, such as the Na'vi people in Pandora in "Avatar".But all apes, gorillas, chimpanzees, gibbons, have no tails and no cheek pouches.All humans, including aliens, are also hairless, such as the Na'vi and ETs.This is of course the imagination of the people on earth, but the genius Cameron would rather let them grow tails than hair, which shows the importance of nudity. This requires a strong justification. A more reliable statement is that we once went to sea.That is to say, the forest ape becomes a marine ape before becoming a plain ape.This can explain why humans, like whales and dolphins, are hairless but have subcutaneous fat; why we can swim with ease in the water, but chimpanzees can only sigh.Even the streamlined body shape and upright walking posture can be reasonably explained.

Unfortunately, this hypothesis has not been supported by archaeology so far.Without fossils, everything is conjecture.Morris said that humans changed from hairy apes to naked apes not to be strippers, but to be athletes, that is, to cool down quickly while running wildly, so as to compete with those professional killers in the animal kingdom in the Central Plains.Therefore, the skin must be exposed to increase sweat glands. This is of course very historical materialism.But why don't those animals who are also facing life and death, including hunting lions and tigers, fleeing rabbits and rats, need to do so, only humans need it?Is it just because we originally lived in the forest, outsiders on the plain?

If you can't find the reason, you can only look at the criminal motive.So what good did the Naked Ape gain by taking off his fur coat? Get sexy. Anyone who has had normal sex knows which is more sexually stimulating, naked or fully clothed. The Na'vi in ​​Avatar are naked because they also want to fall in love and have sex.But what does this have to do with our problem?Did Adam and Eve grow hair before eating the forbidden fruit? Hey, it's hard to tell. In fact, to unravel this mystery, two questions must first be answered.One, after becoming a naked ape, do people become sexy?This is a factual judgment.Second, does sexiness have even negative effects and influences on human culture and civilization?

This is a value judgment.The first question must be answered first.Because there is no factual judgment, the value judgment is equal to zero.

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