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#1163 Herman Pontzer: How to Understand Human Biological Variation: "Race", Height, Gender, and More
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Dr. Herman Pontzer is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Global Health at the Global Health Institute at Duke University. Dr. Pontzer investigates the physiology of humans and other primates to understand how ecology, lifestyle, diet, and evolutionary history affect metabolism and health. His latest book is Adaptable: How Your Unique Body Really Works and Why Our Biology Unites Us.
In this episode, we focus on Adaptable. We start by talking about how we should understand biological variation in humans, and whether “race” is a scientific concept. We discuss when life starts in intrauterine development, and what a “person” is. We talk about variation in height and in nose shape, how to understand population differences and local adaptations, and the role of the environment. We discuss heritability, IQ and intelligence. We talk about what we have evolved to eat and digest. We discuss variation in sexual development, gender, and trans people. We talk about how vaccines work and why they are important. Finally, we discuss whether we could live forever.
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