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If you've ever wondered why Dutch people are so tall, this story from The New York Times may have the answer:
Today, the Dutch are on average the tallest people on the planet. Just 150 years ago, they were relatively short. In 1860, the average Dutch soldier in the Netherlands was just 5 feet 5 inches. American men were 2.7 inches taller.
Since 1860, average heights have increased in many parts of the world, but no people have shot up like the Dutch. The average Dutchman now stands over six feet tall. And while the growth spurt in the United States has stopped in recent years, the Dutch continue to get taller.
For years, scientists have sought to understand why average height has increased, and why the Dutch in particular have grown so quickly. Among other factors, the Dutch have a better diet than in the past, and they also have better medical care. But now Dr. Stulp and his colleagues have found evidence suggesting that evolution itself is also helping to make them taller.
It seems that taller men in the Netherlands are more likely to father more children:
Dr. Stulp and his colleagues analyzed data on 42,612 men and women over age 45, looking at the height of their subjects and how many children they had. Dutch men who were taller than average had more children than those of average or lower than average height, the researchers found.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday April 10 2015, @11:35PM
Probably, but how does this compare to other nations and cultures? As you say, in many other cultures, women also show a preference for taller men. Heck, I'm on OKCupid and I constantly see women on there demanding that any men who contact them must be at least 6 feet tall. (I'm over 6', luckily, but it doesn't seem to be getting me that much interest :-( That's OK, I'm not seeing many interesting women on there anyway; it seems like all the women in my area who bother with OKC are dumb rednecks.)
(Score: 4, Insightful) by kaszz on Saturday April 11 2015, @12:25AM
So where are the sane girls then?
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Saturday April 11 2015, @04:26PM
What do you mean by sane? Do you mean women who have more realistic requirements, or ones who are aren't uninteresting?
Personally, I'm starting to think they just don't exist, and that once you get past the age of 30 (on the female side; males have a bit more time since they tend to hook up with younger women on average, but there's a limit here), the women who are still single have something seriously wrong with them. In addition, as a male you're probably more set in your ways and have various requirements which will make it completely infeasible to find a good partner at this age (>35), so if you find yourself single past these ages, you might as well just give up and save yourself the aggravation.
(Score: 1) by SanityCheck on Saturday April 11 2015, @05:00PM
Please don't scare me :(
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:07PM
Sane women are those that have realistic requirements and are honest about them. And in generally having a courteous manner.
And higher age makes it harder, but giving up just means one does it the wrong way.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Saturday April 11 2015, @07:47PM
Giving up gives you a lot more time to pursue other, more successful interests. Dating (as in actively searching for people to date) takes a lot of time and attention.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:35PM
Good women are thin on the ground at any age. And what you consider "good" tends to change as you get older. In high school it's cute bumps. Later you start to consider more practical things. But I, an extremely shy person, and horrible at meeting people, actually found my wife in my 40s. Strangely enough, in my 30s I would not have realized what a good catch she was. I was searching for someone more like me, and that would have been a horrible mistake.
Here's a few clues: You don't want someone like yourself. Intelligence isn't important, but having an open mind is (even though that means some really silly things can drift into it). Also beauty is of only minor importance, but having a willingness to honestly discuss disagreements is so important that it can't be overrated...but you need to expect to develop that during the relationship, as it won't be there at the start. So you'll both need to work at it (but you can't press her to work at it, you need to cause her to WANT to work at it).
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Saturday April 11 2015, @08:13PM
You don't want someone like yourself. Intelligence isn't important, but having an open mind is
Yeah, I used to think all that too, and married someone who isn't as as smart, and I kept a really open mind about our differences. Fast-forward 5-10 years and now all the differences have become too great to ignore. A big, big problem for her is that I never grew to like a bunch of things that she likes, such as country music. So yes, if you don't have a LOT of things in common, even seemingly minor things, you can look forward to this finally driving a wedge between you years later. Also, everything you ever did wrong will be remembered and used against you later.
Honestly, unless a couple is not very close emotionally, and just treat each other as roommates, I don't see how a marriage can last longer than 10 years. Most of the really long-lived marriages I've seen are like that: the couple has absolutely nothing in common, and are really just roommates who used to have sex when they were young (but haven't for decades). Why we as a society hold this up as some kind of ideal, I have no idea.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday April 12 2015, @06:47PM
It sounds like you need to work out ways of resolving your differences. Sometimes it's difficult, but it's well worth it. (OTOH, if you can't explain about why evidence is important you've got troubles. Even if you can, though, differences about what counts as reliable evidence [i.e., who do you trust] can cause differences. But if you can resolve your important differences, those that remain will be seen as minor. And important means those that affect how you live your life from day-to-day. Also resolve doesn't mean that you need to come to the same conclusion/decision. It means that you can each live your life without strongly interfering with the other. If you can find places where you can interact usefully, that's a tremendous bonus...and there will be many of them.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1) by slinches on Saturday April 11 2015, @05:59PM
How do the Dutch compare to other cultures? I have no idea. I've never been there. I was just pointing out that there's a difference between natural (i.e. environment based) selection and sexual preference based selection processes.