To play the devils advocate*: Why did we evolve tonsils?
(no, I don't believe in ID. I just want to know what advantage the evolution of tonsils confers on humans, and why they were not selected against if they serve no purpose other than to provide a habitat for bacteria to thrive and cause misery to their host who is better off without them)
JC
· 3 years ago
Nipples on men.
Ben
· 3 years ago
Nice point Joe. The standard random guess reply is that tonsilitis doesn't often kill the host, but then that argument doesn't work for the appendix. I guess maybe we needed them reasonably recently? In either case, tonsils are the spawn of satan, and the great noodly one should come down from on high and immediately book everyone in for a tonsilectomy.
Ben
· 3 years ago
I'VE GOT IT! Pirates! It's the decrease in pirates that has caused an increase in tonsilitis! Damn I'm off to donate to the Pastafarian pirate ship fund right now.
Dave
· 3 years ago
Einstein and Eccles both thought seriously about ID (but I think they're both dead). Why do I have two kidneys? People live fine with one. Same goes for thyroid glands--why two? Testicles (men only). If you take out one, the other does the work. We have two brains. Oops, sorry. Two halfs; however, I saw the report where they removed the child's left brain (half) and he's doing very well. Think of this correlation. People with Alzheimer's usually do NOT have their tonsils. People with their tonsils usually have their tonsils! [Disclaimer: the people with tonsils are only in their 30's and 40's, but they don't have Alzheimer's!]
Ben
· 3 years ago
Whoa. Are you seriously trying to tell me that tonsil removal is somehow related to Alzheimers? Or that Tonsils in some manner help with cognitive reasoning? Seems like fucking stupid design to have brain matter in the back of your mouth where it is likely to get infected. If you were attempting parody, then well done, because I've fallen for it.
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(no, I don't believe in ID. I just want to know what advantage the evolution of tonsils confers on humans, and why they were not selected against if they serve no purpose other than to provide a habitat for bacteria to thrive and cause misery to their host who is better off without them)