People horrifically fucking up facts about evolution and genetics too support their stupid beliefs or to seem smart and “rational” is probably one of my big pet peeves

bogleech

Yeah. An enormous number of racists, misogynists, homophobes and transphobes I’ve met eventually whip out something about evolutionary biology and they never, ever, ever, ever have the slightest shadow of even a half-right idea what any of it means or ever cite a claim ever actually made by a scientific study.

Here’s a quick handy reference list or anyone who isn’t sure:

Homosexuality does exist in almost all social species.
“Alpha males” are not a real phenomenon and in fact the most aggressive males tend to be the least reproductively successful.
“Survival of the fittest” simply means that the success of a species hinges on how well it “fits” its environment. It does not mean that stronger or smarter individuals are supposed to succeed. Those things can even be a detriment in nature by wasting too many resources.
“Race” is not a biological concept. Someone who looks different from you has the same human genes, just a different grab-bag of dominant traits.
Evolution is not a march towards higher complexity, more intelligence or even more adaptability. It’s just a fluctuation of characteristics dictated by environmental pressures and mutation. A slime mold isn’t “less evolved” than a hawk, just adapted for success under different parameters.
People didn’t evolve “from apes.” It’s more complicated than that. We are a category of ape, sharing a common ancestor with the other apes.
No human on Earth is “closer” to an evolutionary ancestor than any other. We all descended from the same one.
Neanderthals were also a “sibling” species of ours. We didn’t evolve from them.
Some of us did, however, cross-breed with Neandethal man. It is exclusively non-African races, such as white people, who still carry hybrid human/Neanderthal genes. Whoops, sorry “white purity” skinheads, you’re actually mixed with a whole other species.

Some more stuff!

Humans are actually more genetically homogeneous than most people suspect. This is possibly due to a population bottleneck at some point in our evolutionary past. Two chimpanzees from different sides of a jungle are likely more genetically different to each other than any two human beings in the world.
Our big brains may help us use tools, but what was really principal in their development was the need for empathy, communication, and cooperation.
Humans. Are. Social. So social it drove an incredibly energetically costly increase in our brain size. Don’t believe anyone who says its our nature to fight “every man for themself.” We’re humans, not bears. We fight for each other.
And we always have. Fossil remains are found of ancient humans who bore signs of crucial mobility impairments that lived to notable ages. Some even have sticks or other mobility aids – community care and support is our way. We don’t cast off those with impairments, we stand by them.
Human sexual dimorphism is on a decreasing trend. Our ancestors had greater difference in canine size and overall size. Our dimorphism gap has gotten smaller.
Occam’s razor is the principal that whatever is the simplest explanation is probably the most likely one. Don’t believe someone who says the reason we evolved bipedalism is so that males could carry gifts to females to woo them. Yes, this is a real ‘theory’ on how bipedalism evolved.
Skin tone is an adaptation of UV levels vs vitamin D levels. Both come from the sun. UV is harmful, so where sun is plentiful populations develop a darker skin tone for more protection. The skin needs sun to create vitamin D, so where sun is scarce, the skin tone lightens to allow more sun in. This is literally all it is.
Final thing: No one’s mind is really equipped to fully understand how long a billion years is, or a million, or even tens of thousands of years. Evolution takes place over a loooong time. Its very, very, slow, slower than we can really comprehend. We can’t “stand in the way” of natural selection by caring for our ill. We don’t need to “help” evolution in any way. It inevitably happens, but not on any sort of timescale we could possibly affect, so don’t fall for anyone that tells you not to “stand in the way” of natural selection. That’s fascism, and its utterly pseudo-scientific.
Not to mention natural selection doesn’t have a “will” that you can stand in the way of. Its not an entity with wants, its a millions-year long process. And its impossible for our decisions to “stand in its way.” Our decisions to care for one another are what brought our species where it is, plain and simple.

lunarspelunker

Evolution is literally genetic mutations that sometimes help with propagating our own genome. It’s just luck. Sometimes the mutation is helpful to the organism. Sometimes harmful. Sometimes neutral. It’s just random shit happening and if it was helpful enough ( to reproduction ) it becomes a widespread trait.

#all of this #except the alfa stuff #no that´s actually true #but it´s not an innate thing #is something closer to a title #you know #something that you can lose and win #until someone fitter comes around #often younger and stronger

albino-whumpee reblogged

Helping Your Loved One With Flashbacks

This is a continuation of my “Writing Characters with PTSD” series, or perhaps more aptly for this particular piece: writing a character who loves someone with PTSD.

Mandatory disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional. I am, however, someone with PTSD who has and still sees multiple mental health professionals for PTSD. I’ve also done PTSD “self-help” reading, as well as read texts psychologists read for treating patients with PTSD. However, bear in mind that PTSD is largely variable and everyone experiences it differently. I have merely noticed that some people writing characters with PTSD who don’t have PTSD might have encountered a lack of information from the perspective of those who have PTSD, and am therefore creating resources to fill that void.

Anyway, onwards!

So, first of all, if you know your loved one has PTSD, but have not yet witnessed a flashback:

Open a discussion! This is the most important thing to do. It helps to use broad language that uses an out, like: “If you’re okay letting me know, I’d like to know what I can do to help you.” Let them set the boundaries; no one knows what’s best for them except them. Also, if they don’t want to talk about it, don’t try to make them! Some people don’t even want to acknowledge they have flashbacks, or don’t know there are different kinds of flashbacks, and thus get defensive if you ask after it. Trying to force them to talk will just lead to misery for both of you

If you are witnessing someone experience a (non-Implicit/emotional flashback), and do not know what they specifically need, here are some Do’s and Don’t’s:

DON’T:

touch them, even if you warn them you’re going to. Slapping them or shaking like you see in mainstream media might help, but more likely you’ll just end up with someone who is more distressed.
Don’t start yelling or telling them to “snap out of it”. If they’re aware it’s a flashback, chances are good that they’d like to.
Don’t pressure them to tell you what the flashback was about. They don’t owe you an explanation, even if watching them be in distress has upset you.

DO:

Ask what they need/offer to listen if they want to talk after the flashback. If they want to move on and not acknowledge it, let them. Flashbacks are pretty embarrassing if someone you didn’t mean to see it, saw it.
During the flashback, try to keep onlookers to a minimum. For the same reason as above, your loved one will likely have a harder time recovering from the flashback if they feel less embarrassed.
If they’re not sure what would help but indicate they want it, feel free to suggest things, but don’t push them to do any. For example, some people find that intense sensory sensations help, similar to dissociation: if available, mint foods, spicy foods, or sour foods might help; ice cubes or a cold wet towel might help; Lightly slapping their hand (like a high five) might help. Or, offer a soft blanket and/or pillow to hug if possible. Offer to put on music or some nature sounds like waves (or railroad track sounds– I find that one especially helpful but that’s personal preference). Some people might want physical contact after, so offering a hug also might be a good plan. Most of the time, things to get your heart rate down is the best thing to do after a flashback.

If you are witnessing someone experience an Implicit (aka emotional) flashback, you may think that their emotions are wholly inappropriate for the situation and be inclined to brush it off and/or get angry. But, if someone’s emotions seem inappropriate for the situation, especially if you know they have PTSD (and especially PTSD resulting from long term situations, something sometimes called C-PTSD, there are a few things to do that can make you both feel better:

Validate their emotions. Ask them what they’re feeling, and even if they can’t identify it, let them know it’s okay that they’re feeling it (and even if you’d both probably rather they weren’t, try not to show that).
Ask them if they know what happened that they’re feeling this way. Or aka, identify the trigger They may not know this, but it’s a good place to start. If they start looking anxious about trying to figure it out, don’t push.
If they get angry, or angrier, when you try to talk about it, let them know it’s okay to drop it, and let it drop! Pushing might be done in therapy, but unless you’re literally their therapist what they need isn’t therapy from you, it’s support, on their terms as much as possible.
If they don’t want to talk, try to stick with them through the emotion (unless what they say they need is to be alone) and try to distract them from the emotion. Try to avoid their favorite things, because sometimes those things then become associated with negative emotions, but maybe watch something or play a game they like but don’t love.
The best thing to do with implicit flashbacks is to show that even though they can be scary and hard to handle, you’re not going to give up on your loved one or resent them for it. Once the flashback/emotion has passed, if they said something or did something in the heat of the moment hurt you, it is absolutely okay and good to let them know that they did. Start it with something like: “I know you don’t want to hurt me, but when you said/did x, it made me feel y. I’m not mad, but I am still feeling y.” And then make a plan for if/when implicit flashbacks happen again, to try and ensure that you don’t get hurt while trying to help.

Finally, the most important thing you can do for any kind of flashback: realize that the flashback itself is not intended to make you feel bad! It’s really not about you, even if someone lashes out while having a flashback. There needs to be some responsibility for actions, but there also needs to be understanding that individuals experiencing flashbacks are often not in control, and therefore lashing out is not a conscious choice, but a symptom. Individuals in most cases will feel guilty and seek to make amends, but helping them be responsible is not the same as blaming them. Responsibility is “you hurt me, how can we ensure we both feel better if/when this happens again” and receiving an apology. Blame is “I can’t believe you’re like this. You just make me feel terrible.” (And yes, statements like blame do happen. A lot.)

TL;DR:

communicate with your loved one! Only they know what’s best for them.
Don’t try to shorten a flashback, unless they give you instructions before hand on how that works for them.
Help them be responsible for their actions without blaming them for them.

Some people feel like self harming or are suicidal after flashbacks. If they tell you they are going to hurt themselves or someone else, you should absolutely intervene. If they say they want to, without indicating a plan to, don’t go overboard on fussing; let them know it’s okay to feel suicidal or like they want to hurt themselves, so long as there isn’t intent to harm and make a plan for if the feelings get to the point of planning. It’s like their brain has a backseat driver who’s really pushy. Sometimes they feel like they should listen to those instructions but that doesn’t mean they will, and the last thing they need is to fear like they can’t talk about the feelings. Letting them talk about it without judgement from you may actually make it less likely for them to take action.

As always, if you have questions or want to know more, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I am always willing to talk, regardless of if you’re someone without PTSD who is seeking to more accurately portray it, someone who has a friend or loved one with PTSD who wants to know how to talk to them about it, or someone who has PTSD who these pieces maybe help feel less alone. 💜

#all of this #thank you #i would have killed for someone to aknowledge my ptsd when i was young #it would have saved me a lot of touch trauma #and a lot of embarrasing moments where I was having unconventional flashbacks #writing reference #tw ptsd #ptsd #how to write ptsd #how to write comfort