Re: adaptation and race

Cliff Lundberg (cliff@noevalley.com)
Thu, 29 Oct 1998 11:08:59 -0800

Amanda Gladden wrote:
>
> Dear Cliff,
>
> I'm sorry about that. When I wrote it, I was trying to express my
> thought that everyone was created equal, I didn't mean for it to come
> across that racial coloring came from environment. Please excuse me for
> my statement. Thanks Amanda

The question I raised is one I've often wondered about: at what
point did humans diverge into different races? So I jumped to the
conclusion that this was what you were talking about. As an
evolutionist, I tend to think everything comes from the effects
of the environment (plus historical & morphological constraints,
chance etc).

I have to wonder about your intended meaning. Same colored skin
means equality, different colored means unequal? Skin color doesn't
come from environment? What does it come from?

> >Amanda Gladden wrote:
> >
> >> I also believe that everyone had the same colored skin
> >> when God made us. As we spread out into different parts
> >> of the world, we had to adapt to fit the environment.
> >
> >Is it really accepted that racial coloring stems from
> >environmental adaptation? In Asia, and in the New World,
> >the tropical people don't seem any darker.

-- Cliff Lundberg ~ San Francisco ~ cliff@noevalley.com