What is the Evolutionary Advantage...

...of facial hair?

Discuss.

Didn't you do this thread already?  Anyway the first question is what is the ev. adv. of losing hair that our ancestors did have.

Next consider the bits of hair that are retained.

For the face, it is a sign of capability of impregnating.

Not everything HAS an evolutionary advantage.

- Mutations can outlast their usefulness.
- Mutations can be a side effect of another mutation.
- Mutations can just be random, but because they do not significantly impact survivability they continue to be passed on.
- Mutations can continue to be passed on DESPITE a severe impact on survivability.

Etc, etc.

But anyway, IIRC the main hypothesized explanation for facial hair is simple sexual selection. That is, like the human breast, facial hair is probably the result of selective breeding. Whereas large breasts have always been associated with female fertility, facial hair has been associated with male virility. So over hundreds of thousands of years, women were bred for huge knockers and men were bred to be hairy.

So to answer your question, the evolutionary advantage is that facial hair gets you women so you can spread your genes, like a peacock's feathers or whatever.

Facial hair, like all other hair is to warm the skin and protect against exposure

Humans have in the past benefited from their beard's extreme versatility, using it for food storage, as a cooking utensil, and even as a weapon. I myself use mine to smuggle donuts in, giving me a nutritional competitive advantage over my coworkers.

The moustache on the other hand, is more of a sexual selection thing, like the peacock's tail. I believe I'm not alone in appreciating a well-groomed Kaiser moustache on the right kind of woman.

>>2
Anyway the first question is what is the ev. adv. of losing hair that our ancestors did have.

It significantly reduced the problem of lice, and other parasites that live in hair. By this time we had learned to shelter ourselves somewhat so body hair was no longer needed.

We still have hair on our head and crotch because those are the critical areas we need to stay warm, and we still have hair under our arms to grow fungus because the smell keeps bugs away.

>>6, not to mention that there are vital arteries and veins under the arms as well as major nerves. Try rolling your finger over the bones underneath your arms by the pits, you just might hit a nerve. :)

>>6
We still have hair on our head and crotch because those are the critical areas we need to stay warm, and we still have hair under our arms to grow fungus because the smell keeps bugs away.
[citation needed]
Pubic hair and armpit hair are an atavistic feature. Especially since the groin isn't an area that needs to stay particularly warm.

>>6
>>7

I was told that pubic hair around the groin and armpit hair was supposed to keep in the smell of pheremones, which are nutritionally expensive for the body to create.

>>9, good point. I actually don't know much about pheremones except that if you spray some on yourself, you can pick up the laidies a bit more effectively.

The kind I have is called Pherlure. Cost $50+ S/H for 4oz

>>11
The kind you have is called Phailure.  OH SNAP

Hey did any of you feel a negro's hair?  Does it feel like head hair, or like your pubic hair, all rough and shitty?

>>8
Especially since the groin isn't an area that needs to stay particularly warm.

Uhh yeah it is, meiosis is extremely sensitive to temperature changes. Ever wonder why your ballsac shrivels up and your balls don't hang after you've jumped into cold water? You need to maintain a very narrow temperature range to sustain meiosis, hence ball-hair, and twat-hair for the ladies.

Facial hair is used to protect the face from dangers such as bullets and grenades. It given to us by God so that we could protect ours selves from the godless commies of the prehistoric times.

to n.13 the answer is. no it is soft like cotton. jack@ss  

>>16
No way!  It looks all wiry and shit, like pubes.

>>14
It's sensitive to temperature changes, which is why they retract into the body when it's too cold. The hair's effect is negligible.
Plus, if you think the ovaries lose temperature through the twat you need to look at the inside of the female body again.

Most things are simply too inconsequential to have any evolutionary value, at least recently. These features evolved initially for a reason and later became useless, but not harmful enough to be evolved back to nothing. A text book example is the appendix which is the genetic remains of the 2nd stomach our ancestors had as  squirrel-like creatures 10s of millions of years ago.

The real question is why facial hair is triggered by sex hormones and whether it had an evolutionary benefit for our recent ancestors.

Sperm cells need to be kept at a temperature lower than body temperature, egg cells do not.

Pubic hair acts to prevent the scrotum from sticking and rubbing against the thighs whilst running and walking.

I don't know, I did lots of running and walking before I grew in the pubes.

In regards to the Appendix, it is said that it houses good bacteria as a backup in case you ever need a reboot in your intestines.