• Cid Vicious@sh.itjust.works
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    19 hours ago

    For anybody who thinks that animals in their natural environment are all happy…yeah imagine living for decades without any sort of dental care. Evolution is about surviving, not thriving.

    • harmsy@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      I guess I should buy a lottery ticket, then, because my wisdom teeth came in pretty much straight. The only problem I ever have is getting anything back there for cleaning.

  • ikidd@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Well, see, your mistake is brushing your teeth and living past 30. If your back molars were properly rotten enough to gracefully pop out when the wisdoms grew in, and then you died before that one rotted and you couldn’t chew anymore, you wouldn’t have any problems.

    Literally.

      • Triasha@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        Not all. Pre industrial humans where I live ate a lot of slow roasted cactus. After 2 days buried with hot stones the cactus hearts were caramelized. I’ve tasted it prepared in the traditional manner and it’s just syrup in a leaf. Delicious, and I have no doubt it was great energy for people that had to walk miles every day.

        Anyone that lived past 30 had their teeth rot right out of their head, according to the archiological record.

      • MintyFresh@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Depends on where they were and what they were eating. Humans are really amazing in that we can eat almost anything that’s not a straight up tree, and we’ve existed across the planet in just about every ecological niche. I remember reading somewhere they could estimate the age of desert burial/skeleton remains on how worn the teeth are due to the sand getting in the food. But I’m sure no processed sugar is pretty beneficial tho

  • Limonene@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Pre-dentistry, a bunch of your teeth would have fallen out before your wisdom teeth came in. There would have been space for the wisdom teeth so they wouldn’t need to come in sideways.

    • Agent641@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      “You really shouldn’t be awake for this” - the orthodontist crushing my sideways wisdom teeth with pliers so he can rip the shards out individually.

  • Squorlple@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    It means that humans developed empathy and the scientific means to help each other avoid natural selection. Intraspecies and interspecies empathy is the cheat code against natural selection. Certain ram species, for example, also were not designed intelligently, so as they age they may grow their horns until they penetrate their skull and kill them. Natural selection is most effective when it culls prior to the life form procreating. However, thanks to the power of empathy, we can abate natural selection by performing oral surgery on humans (ideally in our adolescence for wisdom teeth removal) and by shaving rams’ horns as they age. Ideally, as science develops and empathy spreads, we can come up with more effective and painless means to ensure everybody has a chance to live and be happy.