Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Masculinity

In the womb, a fetus with XY chromosomes is exposed to testosterone and other androgens that help it develop into a male. Research has shown that people exhibit features that give away how much testosterone we were exposed to before birth. The digit ratio is the ratio between the length of the second and fourth fingers. If both fingers are the same length, the ratio is 1. The lower the digit ratio (ring finger longer than index finger), the more testosterone the fetus was likely exposed to.

It is not clear why testosterone affects the length of your fingers, but there is significant evidence to support the theory. Men with a lower digit ratio tend to be described as more aggressive, dominant and overall “masculine”. Men with a higher digit ratio, closer to 1, are typically described to have more feminine traits such as higher emotional quotient, sensitivity and interestingly, excelling in mathematics and science. The effect is more pronounced in men but also affects women. Women with a low digit ratio are more likely to be assertive. It has also been shown that lesbian women have a lower digit ratio than heterosexual women.

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Posted in Life & Happiness

True Love

Let us assume that everyone has a person they are destined to end up with. Can we calculate the probability of such a fateful meeting between a man and a woman?

Suppose that the woman is X and the man is Y. Firstly, X and Y need to be born as human beings. They cannot be born as a worm or an onion or something. Here, we will say that the total number of species is M and the population number of each species as P (technically this part is forcing it slightly, so we can skip it).

Although the two have to beat ridiculous odds just to start, just being born as human beings is not enough. One must be born with XX chromosomes to be a woman, and the other must be born with XY chromosomes to be a man.

Let us assume that the two were lucky enough to be born as a man and a woman. Next, they must live in the same space. If one lives in some Korean city and the other lives in some American rural village, it is unlikely the two will ever meet.

Even if they did live in the same place, X and Y must have subjective qualities that the other person finds attractive. If they are not interested in each other, nothing will happen even if they did meet. By this stage, we have clearly gone past the scopes of mathematics.

Then let us assume that a man and a woman, who fit each other perfectly and born as people, are living in the same space. We are still missing one variable: time. Even if we took only the 5000 years that civilisations have existed, the odds of the two being born in the same era as similar ages is less than 0.001%.

Species, sex, space, time… Statistically speaking, the chances of a man and a woman beating all of these odds to establish a perfect couple seem nearly impossible. But we can clearly see that “true love” exists all around us. Numbers are just numbers. If you find a person that makes your heart skip a beat when your eyes meet, that makes you feel that the more you get to know them, the more you think you cannot live without them; in essence a person that makes you think “this person is The One”, do not let the person slip away. The scenario of you and that person existing on the same space-time and loving each other is something that verges on the impossible.

There is no treasure as rare as true love. If you have found true love, or believe that you have found it, fight to seize it and do everything in your power to protect it. That is the greatest accomplishment you can make in life.

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Posted in History & Literature

To End All Wars

In his play Lysistrata, Greek playwright Aristophanes gives a comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War – a 30 year old war between Athens and Sparta. How did one woman bring an end to such a deadly war?

In the play, Lysistrata (the female protagonist) becomes sick and tired of men treating women like simplistic hedonists incapable of functioning on their own. She believes that the war is a result of irrational men making stupid decisions and the long war is a waste as young, nubile women are aging away. She holds a convening of the women of various city states and proposes that the women must rise up to stop the war. Lysistrata’s plan is simple: withhold sex from the men until they cave (i.e. a sex strike). The women are reluctant at first, but agree to join her. They then take over the acropolis of the city, setting up a safe haven for women, barring any man from entering.

The men initially scoff at this revolution and try repeatedly to lay siege on the acropolis. However, they fail and the women continue to not provide any sexual pleasures to any male. The men constantly make snide comments about how women are hysterical and only seek pleasure, but sooner or later, they become desperate for sex. One by one, desperate men (sporting “burdens”, i.e. erections) come to the acropolis, pleading for relief (funnily, some women desert the acropolis in desperation for sex as well). The women take the men in, but only to tease them and leave them disappointed.

Eventually, the men (of both Athens and Sparta) cave and surrender, agreeing to end the war. There is a hilarious scene during the peace talks where Lysistrata brings out a stunning young girl named Reconciliation in front of the men, quashing any complaints or objections. Even the men who protest against the women’s demands are overcome by their lust and want(/need) for sex. Once peace is declared, the men and women all come together in the acropolis for singing and dancing, celebrating the women’s success in ending the war.

Although the play is only a comic exploration of the battle of the sexes, it clearly shows the power women have over men, and how they can use that power to easily control men.

Posted in Philosophy

Curvy And Straight

A natural world is a world of curved lines while a man-made one is a world of straight lines.

Mountains, trees, valleys, rivers, rocks… all of these have curved edges.
Apartments, buildings, desks, cellphones… everything in a city has straight edges.

Those with life are curved and those that are dead are straight.
But whether it be a city or the countryside, a person is curved.

We are still nature.

Posted in Science & Nature

Marriageable Age

When is the right time to get married? According to Professor Tony Dooley, you can use an equation to find the right age for proposing. To do this, take “the youngest age you want to marry” and minus it from “the oldest age you want to marry” then times 0.368. Add this number to the youngest age. For example, if you would consider getting married from age 21 onwards and at the latest 30, your ideal age to marry is: (30 – 21) x 0.368 = 3.312 + 21 = 24.312, thus about 24 years and 4 months old. 

This equation is very practical as it is a modified version of equations used in financial and medical fields. This equation is used to maximise profit while minimising loss using mathematics. It may not sound romantic, but according to Professor Dooley, after you reach the calculated age you should not waste time and ask the hand of the next person you date in marriage.

(Sourcehttp://soulofautumn87.deviantart.com/art/All-We-Need-Is-A-4-Letter-Word-111260511)

Posted in Life & Happiness

Tie

One challenge a man faces as he grows up is tying a tie. A well-tied tie not only looks good, but also shows that you are a highly organised and proper man. The following instructions describe how to tie the Windsor knot.

  1. Drape the tie around your neck so that the wide end is on the right. Align it so the narrow end is shorter than the broad end.
  2. Cross the wide end over the front of the narrow end.
  3. Fold it behind the narrow end then push it up the hole (between the tie and your neck).
  4. Bring the wide end down (over the loop), then around the back of the narrow end.
  5. Tighten the loop made. This will make the right side of the triangle at the end.
  6. Fold the wide end over and around the loop. 
  7. Pull tight as you did in step 5. This is the left side of the triangle.
  8. Cross the wide end over the front of the triangle, under the loop, up the hole.
  9. Feed the broad end through the knot you made in front of the triangle. Pull down and tighten.
  10. Shape the knot into a symmetrical triangle as you tighten it. Now tighten the loop comfortably around your collar.

If the tie is too short or too long, repeat by adjusting how much narrow end you left at step 1. Practising these steps a few times will soon make you a master of ties – an essential skill for all suit-wearing gentlemen.

Posted in History & Literature

Succubus

A succubus is a demon that takes the form of an attractive human woman to seduce men, tempting them to have sex with her. Through sex, the succubus leeches away the man’s life force until he wilts away. They tend to visit men in their dreams and use their beauty and charm to lure and enchant their victim. A famous example of a succubus is Lilith, the first wife of Adam. There are other similar demons throughout the world, such as the nine-tailed fox in Asia (kumiho in Korea, kitsune in Japan and Hulijing in China). A similar demon is an incubus – the male equivalent of a succubus.

The origin of the succubus may be explained medically. It is well known that sleep paralysis is related to vivid hallucinations in the hypnagogic state, with countless cases of alien abductions and supernatural sightings ascribed to the phenomenon.

However, another explanation may be that the succubus is an allegory of the femme fatale. Femme fatale – French for “deadly woman” – describes a mysterious and seductive woman who uses her womanly charms to ensnare and manipulate men. A femme fatale is highly able in utilising the various tools at her disposal: beauty, charm, sexual allure, music, seductive dancing, persuasive language, deception, coercion, hypnotising and generally toying with a man’s reproductive instincts.

There are many examples of how different femme fatales – ranging from the biblical Eve to the spy Mata Hari – made an impact in history through the elaborate manipulation of men to their advantage. This is reflected in folklore through the concept of witches and enchantresses who use “magic” and sexual charms to have men do their bidding, essentially having them on a leash.

Essentially, the moral of the story of the succubus (that is, to men) that women can be deadly and are completely capable of sapping a man’s life away if she wished so. That is why men should know when they are actively being deceived or being controlled by a woman with (false) promises of love and sex. Perhaps the flipside moral of the story for women is that with the power of sex, a woman can have a man do anything for her – a valid strategy that has proven to be effective for all of recorded history.

Posted in History & Literature

Buttons

There is an extremely simple way to tell if a shirt or jacket is designed for a man or a woman – buttons. A male garment traditionally has buttons on the right side while female garments have them on the left side.

The reason for the male garment is that having the button on the right side is easier to button up when dressing oneself (given that he is right-handed). So why is this not the case for female garments? This is because during Victorian times, women were usually dressed by a maid or servant so it would be easier for them to button up a dress if it was on the left side. This theory is very plausible as zippers were not available then and dresses were mostly buttoned from the back. Even when women’s clothing started having buttons in the front, tailors were already accustomed to the traditional convention.

Alternate theories are quite interesting too. It is hypothesised that buttons on male clothing were modelled after a knight’s armour that would be latched on so that a right-handed opponent could not jam their pike through a seam. Contrary to the military origin of the male buttons, female buttons may be placed in such a way to allow the lady to easily expose her left breast – which is closer to her heart – to nurse her baby.

(Source: http://j-jm-m.deviantart.com/art/Button-66176952)

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

From Cell To Birth: A Man And A Woman

Organisms have the amazing ability to beget new life. In bacteria, this can be as simple as splitting itself in two. In humans, however, this process is much more complex.
As a sexually reproducing animal, both a man and a woman are required for the creation of a new person. The process, as complex as is it, is so intricately designed by nature that it could possibly be considered as one of the greatest abilities of the human body.

A man contributes sperm, providing half of the genetic material the future baby. The sperm also decides the sex, depending on whether it carries the X or Y chromosome. Note that gametes only carry half the number of chromosomes (which are usually paired) of a normal cell.
Sperm is made in the testes. Here, under the guidance of hormones such as testosterone and nurturing cells, they grow from a small stem cell, into a plump, round spermatocyte, until it is streamlined to become the sleek spermatozoa that people are more familiar with. All of this occurs as the cell journeys from the outside of the seminiferous tubule to the centre where it is released altogether with its fellow batch.
The sperm is still immature, the equivalent of a high-school graduate. It is expelled into the epididymis, a 4-metre-long tube packed full of concentrated sperm, acting as the “boot camp”. Here, the sperm is drained of extra baggage it is carrying, while learning how to swim effectively. It is stored until the time comes.

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A woman contributes an egg, carrying the other half of the genetic material required. It is significantly bigger than a sperm, and as such is produced in much fewer numbers. A woman, unlike a man, has a limit to how many eggs she can produce, and the moment her reservoir runs out is called menopause. Until then, she produces one (or more sometimes) egg every month according to her menstrual cycle.
An egg is developed within a follicle, that acts as a house and oestrogen factory until the egg is released. To get to this stage, it needs to defeat its competitors first. To prevent multiple pregnancies, the ovaries kill all secondary follicles except one dominant follicle. The follicle then ovulates, wherein the oocyte (egg) is expelled almost explosively, caught by the finger-like fimbriae, and then transported towards the uterus via the fallopian tube.
If the egg is not fertilised within a day, it dies and is later expelled with the endometrium, in what every woman knows as a period.

This is only the beginning of the long journey until the miraculous birth of a child.

(Full series here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/arkrepro/?order=asc)

Posted in Science & Nature

Man Versus Ant

Human:
A mammal that ranges in size from about 1 to 2 metres.
Weighs between 30kg and 100kg. Females are pregnant for 9 months. 
Omnivorous diet. Population estimated around 7 billion.

Ant:
An insect that ranges in size from about 0.01 to 3 centimetres.
Weighs between 0.001mg and 1g. Can produce eggs endlessly given there is an ample sperm reservoir.
Omnivorous diet. Population estimated around 1 quintillion (1 billion times 1 billion).

(from The Encyclopaedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge by Bernard Werber)