Would homo erectus find us attractive?

[Keith&Co.]

Or any candidate for being a predecessor in our gene pool?
I was thinking about Opar, the lost Atlantean colony in Tarzan's jungle.
The women in Opar have been getting more and more attractive (by our standards) in the centuries since they were isolated, while the men have been getting more and more repulsive (by our standards).
It would seem to me that for that to work, the women of her city would have somehow become attracted to hairy, brutish, bowlegged, slope-shouldered, knuckledragging men over the years. High Priestess La is something of a throwback, finding Tarzan far more worthy as partners go.

But that got me thinking of theistic evolution. According to those who know enough about evolution that htey won't reject it, but want to keep their God as part of the process, evolution's had a goal all along. God either encouraged, or led, or programmed our ancestral chain to want to breed true in a steady line that lead from nasty, brutish apes to sophisicated, smooth-skinned people who look remarkably similar to the theist.
So that means our ancestors would have been attracted to anyone more bipedal, less hairy, taller, and in all cases choose the partner that promises offspring closer to Modern Man than any othe rpossible mates.

That would suggest that if we traveled in time, our ancestors would find us the ultimate in sexually attractive candidates for whoopy smoochies. We would display all the traits they want (or are encouraged to want, or are programmed to seek) for their kid.
From our point of view, of course, they would offer a step back, away from the goal. And there we'd be, fighting our way back to the time machine, beating grandma and grandma and grandma back with a stick.

This would also suggest that we would find our distant descendants more and more attractive as they evolve (except for the apparent belief that we're already at the pinnacle of human evolution). But most SciFi designs of future humans, either through time travel or the use of an evolution ray, depict tiny little androgynous creatures with bulging skulls from the increase brain size. In other words, something alien rather than something of a supercharged sex kitten.

I begin to feel that if evolution has a goal, we should be designing our great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-blah, blah, blah-great-grandchildren as super-dooper-sexy. But if they're distant enough from us, they become effectively a different species, so wanting to sleep with great-etc-granddaughter is, among other icks, bestiality.

But i'm not sure if Neanderthal or Flores Man would find us superdooper attractive?

If our evolution had a goal, their ancestors stepped off the path. Would they still have carried the programmed goal? Were they frustrated in all their sexual partnering in not producing modern humans?
Would they want to jump us as soon as we materialized in their temporal vicinity, or would they feel shame for failing the task set by God, and turn away from us, hiding?

 

[jonJ]

Just having all your teeth would have been a big plus in the attractiveness stakes even 100 years ago.

 

[Bronzeage]

If evolution has a goal, this means some sort of priority and planning must go into the process. This is pretty much contrary to any kind of TFT catechism.

It is hard to resist the idea that we are all here and able to consider the problem because it was our destiny. A destiny is not the same thing as a goal, but pretty close. Stephen J. Gould used to talk about when humans draw the tree chart of evolutionary progress, we alway put ourselves in the upper lefthand corner, because we think we belong there.

 

[Potoooooooo]

Or any candidate for being a predecessor in our gene pool?
I was thinking about Opar, the lost Atlantean colony in Tarzan's jungle.
The women in Opar have been getting more and more attractive (by our standards) in the centuries since they were isolated, while the men have been getting more and more repulsive (by our standards).
It would seem to me that for that to work, the women of her city would have somehow become attracted to hairy, brutish, bowlegged, slope-shouldered, knuckledragging men over the years. High Priestess La is something of a throwback, finding Tarzan far more worthy as partners go.

On a related note, have you read this series?
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Opar-Philip-Jose-Farmer/dp/1596064714
I think you might like it

 

[Tom Sawyer]

They'd find me attractive. That's just because everyone does. I'm awesome.

I don't think I'd be too into their looks, but I'd be willing to hit that shit at least once just to say that I did.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Michele Bachmann just tweeted to say that Homo erectus can be cured.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Michele Bachmann just tweeted to say that Homo erectus can be cured.

Sounds like she's still into gay porn. How else would she know?

 

[thebeave]

I thought Home Erectus was when a gay guy got a boner. You guys seem to be talking about anthropology or something.

 

[Eldarion Lathria]

Michele Bachmann just tweeted to say that Homo erectus can be cured.

Depends on the disease. Since Michelle Batshit IS a Homo erectus she should know.

Eldarion Lathria

 

[Underseer]

Given that much of our current appearance is attributed to sexual selection rather than natural selection, I'm betting they would find us very attractive.