So PUA nimrod and would-be philosopher-king Roosh Valizadeh has put on his “science” hat again, reporting what he describes as the “two seismic implications” of a recent study of flies.
The first is that a woman can absorb enough DNA during her lifetime that it changes her phenotype (i.e. her appearance and overall health state). There could be some truth to the phrase “slut face” in which highly promiscuous women suffer a change to their appearance because of all the variable sperm from different males that have been deposited inside them.
Wat.
The second implication stems from the fact that it’s scientifically conclusive that single mothers have DNA of their bastard children residing permanently within their bodies. Any man who reproduces with a single mom will have a child that contains DNA from the bastard spawn, which of course includes DNA from the absentee father. This means that men can be genetically cuckolded without being traditionally cuckolded, and that having a baby with a single mom is essentially giving the father of her first child a bonus prize in the game of evolution.
Now I’m no biologist, but this seems like a giant stinky pile of horseshit to me. I mean, what the hell?
In the interests of actual science — as distinct from PUA “science” — I sent Roosh’s post along to actual biologist PZ Myers.
His first reaction was “ick.” And then he sat down and wrote a post in which he declared that “there’s literally nothing correct in any of that mess” from Roosh I just quoted.
Nothing. Roosh has imposed his faulty, biased interpretation on the work in a way that would certainly horrify the authors.
Naturally, the conclusions that Roosh draws from his completely wrong premises are also completely wrong:
For thousands of years, a woman’s purity was cherished above all else when it came to creating a family. Now the scientific community is confirming the validity of that practice. Until the science is settled, men who insist on reproducing with a promiscuous woman should at least demand to interview her previous sexual partners so he can become familiar with the men whose genes may be passed on to his future children.
I think it’s fairly safe to say that the only DNA Roosh will be passing along to future generations will be found on the kleenex on the floor next to his bed after he dies alone and unloved in whatever obscure country he ends up in because he thinks it’s the least feminist on earth.
You can see PZ’s full takedown here.
Heh. I just came over from Pharyngula to tell everyone here about PZ’s article, not having realized you were the original source.
Roosh, do you have any idea how distantly related humans and flies are? This is like saying because some salamanders can regrow limbs, humans will naturally regrow arms.
Wait. No. It’s actually farther fetched than that, because at least salamanders are more closely related to humans than fruit-flies.
What is biology, Roosh?
This sort of reminds of something I once read on a white supremacist website, saying that any white woman who has sex with a black man permanently retains his DNA and could produce mixed children even years after the fact.
Also, cool thing: We’re trying to figure out how to adopt salamander’s genes to be useful for people limb regrowing. If we do, it’ll be sweet! Still not ‘natural’ though…
I once had that as the premise for a horror novel.
God there is nothing positive you can really say about Roosh. Not only is he a horrible person he’s also just an unbelievably stupid jackass.
I guess you could say he makes a good receptacle for unwanted beer.
Wow, you know it takes quite a lot to make Liquid Snake’s speech on genetics look correct by comparison. Roosh has surpassed that bar. I think even Liquid Snake would call bullshit on Roosh’s understanding of genetics.
_I_ got all the _RECESSIVE_ genes!
Hah, Micharion got in before me 🙂
A similar concept (involving starfish instead of salamanders) serves as a central McGuffin in the YA spy-story/romance The Arm of the Starfish, by Madeline L’Engle. (The book itself is a bit of crossover porn for two largely distinct lines–her very well-known Time Quintet and her lesser-known Austin Family books.) It’s a good read.
Oh my. Why didn’t Roosh move on to the obvious horror of horrible conclusions – how about SIBLINGS? Won’t anyone think of the SIBLINGS!?
I’m totally cuckolded by my whole family! Why did they have 2 kids? WHY?
That’s it, I’m creating a new movement called SGTOWADMSB – Sibling Going Their Own Way And Disavowing My Stupid Brother.
How dare he laden me with his Slutface! Y chromosome overload!
P.S. I pity the fool with more than 1 brother! Shudder…
It’s not just his stupidity, it’s his flagrant hypocrisy.
This guy claims to have slept with hundreds of women, so according to his pseudoscience there are loads of women carrying little roosh time bombs in their dna, not very responsible of him.
Then again, maybe that’s the whole point? Roosh knows he’ll never get married and have children, perhaps this is the only way he can convince himself that his genes will be passed on?
There’s an early X-Files episode wherein the homicidal maniac of the week has regrown his missing arm and hand using salamander DNA spliced into his arm.
Only slightly less disappointing than the Jersey Devil being a feral woman, as I’m sure Shaenon can verify.
Uh, no. If that were true, I’d have tomato face.
Double-no. If THAT were true, wouldn’t there be some kind of reaction, as there sometimes is with bone-marrow transplants?
And anyway: What does it matter if the kid’s a “bastard” or born in lawful wedlock? Makes no difference whatsoever. A kid’s a kid.
Dude, do you even science?
Here’s a man who blocked by his own dumb
… Well, yeah, because they have the same mother. All children get half their DNA from their mothers, and therefore siblings will always share at least half their DNA. And it doesn’t make a difference whether the mother is single or married, because sex cells don’t check for a fucking marriage license before doing their thing.
I have a sneaking suspicion that somebody finally explained to him how human reproduction works but he couldn’t reconcile the 50/50 DNA split with his apparent belief that babies are straight-up clones of the father and women don’t supply anything other than a uterus. THE ANSWER MUST BE MULTIPLE FATHERS!!!
Goddamn. This is why sex education is necessary.
Also, I gotta ask: Which random idiot’s hideous DNA got left behind in Roosh’s mother from a previous pregnancy?
Wowwwwwww. I thought that I had seen everything from “Camp Willful Ignorance of Science”, but this sure takes the bukkake.
The rebuttal article linked to was very interesting.
Of course, transfer of genetic material can be quite useful; I like having mitochondria.
The distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ can sometimes be a false dichotomy. People get worried about genetically modified food, but nature’s being stuff like that for ages. Some pea plants can produce haemoglobin for example. That’s seems to be down to direct gene transfer.
Honestly, how much must someone hate women that you’d have to come up with such clear woman-hating gossip to spread to other men already prone to hating women, for the sole purpose of making them hate women all the more?
I can’t think of anyone I’ve pitied so much in all my life. I’m not religious, but I would pray for that guy.
The most disapointing thing in this? He has a bloody science degree and he can’t science.
Or he willfully misinterprets science.
I know no field is immune from having jerks (Dawkins), but I’d hope at least that science grads would have a little pride in their education and not blatantly misunderstand and misinterpret scientific literature.
Just a little.
I feel so bad for his professors, if the unfortunate souls even remember this kid.
Well that made no sense.
*disappointing
I can spell. Sometimes.
…At least it will be really easy for him to get everybody to accept the “It was just a joke!!1!” excuse afterwards, because the idea that he is serious is just too unbelievable.
@Alan Robertshaw
?!!?!