As I often wonder, why are humans the ugliest species on earth? And now I think I have a plausible answer: domestication. Millennia of relentless domestication.

Addendum (February 5, 2012)

I am well aware that I am repeating myself. And often. Which only goes to show how important domestication happens to be in my mind. For the incredulous, it is enough to remind them of America today. As I write, many young men of African origin are loitering in jail. A good number of them will perish young. Few of them will procreate. That is domestication at its most virulent at this point in time, but similar examples can be found throughout history. The best of men have been perishing either in war or in jail for the last ten millennia or so. That is, ever since the last ice age. Civilization equals domestication, and domestication is mostly about the removal of men who could not be civilized quickly enough by the standards of their fickle kings and queens. As most women would readily admit, such men are among the least ugly, too. Come what may, if they were only available for a tumble!