strange questions and stranger answers
Sometimes, you read about a certain line of research and wonder why exactly it’s being reported as a newsworthy event, and why the scientists behind it think it’s worth perusing. For example, take this quote from an article on Live Science…
Many mammals have virtually no noticeable belly button. We humans, however, are left with an umbilical scar that is not only obvious but which varies dramatically…
“I propose that umbilicus, together with the surrounding skin area, is an honest signal of individual vigor,” Sinkkonen wrote in the latest issue of The FASEB Journal. “More precisely, I suggest that the symmetry, shape, and position of umbilicus can be used to estimate the reproductive potential of fertile females, including risks of certain genetically and maternally inherited fetal anomalies.”
Huh? You can tell all that by looking at a woman’s belly button based on a few studies in which people were asked to evaluate what navel shapes were most aesthetically pleasing to them? How exactly does navel shape and fertility correlate? And what would belly button shapes tell about men? Would they hint at sperm production and hormone levels? Something just doesn’t sound quite right here and the evidence is rather lacking. The only thing we have to go by is the conclusion that because humans have a very pronounced umbilical scar, it must mean something or it wouldn’t be there. That question might make sense at first, but it’s not really meaningful when we consider the random nature of evolution.
Could it be that the first humans just happened to be born with these umbilical scars and because it was entirely benign, the processes that created them carried on for hundreds of thousands of generations? Considering that randomness is how nature diversifies and organisms become more and more complex, we probably shouldn’t rush to find an explanation for how everything in our anatomy must be crucially important. In fact, that has a slight hint of the “irreducible complexity” argument of ID proponents.
Obviously, scientists should ask why we have pronounced belly buttons or exactly five fingers or toes. Some of the most profound research is often done by asking seemingly bizarre questions. But we should make sure that the explanations being given make sense in a broad context. Just ask yourself, when was the last time your partner’s belly button shape sealed the deal for you?
