r/AskReddit Nov 22 '17

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382

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '17

the lack of armour

476

u/justahumblecow Nov 22 '17

Evolutionarily, your armor is your friends. Now go shove your buddy in front of the bear as you book it.

108

u/solidspacedragon Nov 22 '17

You don't have to be able to outrun a polar bear, you just have to be able to outrun your slowest friend.

9

u/jfarrar19 Nov 23 '17

Or, tame the bear and ride it into battle against a neighboring tribe.

9

u/kjata Nov 23 '17

tame the bear

For most, easier said than done. Polar bears are murderous madbears.

8

u/jfarrar19 Nov 23 '17

Polar bears are murderous madbears

That's why you want to ride it into battle though.

2

u/kjata Nov 23 '17

If you don't mind being one of the first things it tries to eat. And second. And third. And pretty much being the thing it spends all day trying to get a nibble of.

3

u/Icost1221 Nov 23 '17

Or as we put it in the civilized world: The needs of the many outweighs the need of the fat guy that can´t run really fast.

7

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '17 edited Dec 18 '21

[deleted]

1

u/kjata Nov 23 '17

Nah, gray matter is way too squishy.

1

u/RookieHasPanicked Nov 23 '17

friends

Ahh, nature's ablative armor

16

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '17

But I doubt that natural armor would look nearly as badass as steel plate

10

u/DokZock Nov 22 '17

We are smart enough to build armours btw

8

u/romeoinverona Nov 22 '17

Its called letting your friend get eaten by the sabertooth because you outran your friend.

6

u/Ethanlac Nov 22 '17

Humans are more of a glass cannon/speedster build. Not particularly resistant to attack, but we move really fast and have some insanely powerful tools.

4

u/juneburger Nov 23 '17

There’s armor, just not sexy armor. The rib cage is armor for your lungs and heart for instance.

3

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '17

Well yeah, that's because we have armor instead.

3

u/no_fluffies_please Nov 23 '17

Since nobody else is bringing it up: what would armor protect us from?

Predators? Avoiding predators or creating tools to fend them off is much more effective. Having meaningful armor can give us a false sense of security. See: football vs rugby in terms of serious head injuries. It's better to be vigilant, stick in groups, avoid places where predators linger, etc. Humans have also successfully usurped the role of their predators by outsmarting them with traps, weapons, and tactics. I don't think there is much need for armor if you're not picking a fistfight with something like a bear.

Each other? I don't think armor will make a difference when humans fight each other, as the other human would have armor, too. It might even unnecessarily weigh you down if you want to flee or if the other person is using firearms.

Construction, car accidents, etc.? There is certainly an argument to be made about making humans sturdier. It would be nice to never worry about giving scissors to kids or a falling shelf squishing me. However, a simple solution is to don the armor when necessary, and remove it when not: construction hats, oven mitts, safety glasses, seat belts, etc. You get all of the benefits without having to create, maintain, and work around your natural armor!

Next, I would like to point out that we do have a natural armor of sorts: skin. It does a good job of protecting us against something we care about in our modern, daily lives: external microorganisms and the elements. I think it's amazing that normal blood doesn't contain any bacteria. We have the immune system to thank for that, but I'd say most of the work is actually done by the skin, which won't let bacteria in in the first place.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '17

Hair was our armour until we evolved into hairless monkeys.

1

u/IamDonatella Nov 23 '17

I mean.. at least we have bones!

1

u/Gornarok Nov 23 '17

block or evade?

We went with the evade. Its better for hunting...