Is it possible...

[Gob]

This is an interesting article by a geneticist who has studied this subject. He talks narrowly about the possible role of the gene ACTN3 on Jamaica's sprint performance but it is still enlightening.

His conclusions seem to be:
1. There is almost certainly a genetic element, although not much evidence has been found yet
2. The genetic influence, if found, will be much more complex than the presence or absence of one gene
3. Environmental factors also play a massive role and should not be discounted.

One finding which i found interesting is that the incidence of the ACTN3 gene (which is associated with better sprinting performance but possibly lower endurance,) is actually higher in Kenyan tribes which dominate the distance events, but don't have any notable sprinters.

http://www.genetic-future.com/2008/08/g ... ss-no.html

[dales]

A population with a wider and deeper genome has the potential to produce more people at the extremes of human ability (both up and down).

Yes, I've just noticed all the Noble Prize ranks filled with Africans.

[Joe Guy]

It's also well known that the hoopus dunkus chromosome is exclusive to the African genome.

It is more commonly referred to (albeit incorrectly & politically unacceptably) as the 'basketball gene'.

[Lord Jim]

It is more commonly referred to (albeit incorrectly & politically unacceptably) as the 'basketball gene'.

Well, at least they didn't call it The Tap Dancing Gene....

[Rick]

That is absolutley amazing and most definitely points to a divine creator.

To have a genetic trait come out of Afica for a game invented in the US...

[dgs49]

The "fast twitch muscle" thing - known for decades now - explains the predominance of African sprinters. High altitude Africans have not been dominant in the sprints, but have excelled in distance running and dominated the world marathon competitions since they were brought up to modern training techniques.

Further, the dramatic difference in leg-to-torso length of many Africans as compared to European caucasians, as well as disproportionately long arms, explains their dominance in jumping competitions and sports that reward jumping ability.

But in a few more generations we'll all be mongrelized so it won't make any difference.

[dales]

But in a few more generations we'll all be mongrelized so it won't make any difference.

dgs.................

Hienrich Himmler called wishing you his best.

[rubato]

A population with a wider and deeper genome has the potential to produce more people at the extremes of human ability (both up and down).

Yes, I've just noticed all the Noble Prize ranks filled with Africans.

You really are an amazingly stupid jackass sometimes.

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

You really are an amazingly stupid jackass sometimes.

And then there are those who are such a stupid jackass so much of the time that it ceases to be "amazing" and instead becomes the expected level of intellectual expression....

[rubato]

You really are an amazingly stupid jackass sometimes.

And then there are those who are such a stupid jackass so much of the time that it ceases to be "amazing" and instead becomes the expected level of intellectual expression....

You know too little to be an interesting debate opponent.

Go away, little girl.

yrs,
rubato

[loCAtek]

A population with a wider and deeper genome has the potential to produce more people at the extremes of human ability (both up and down).

Yes, I've just noticed all the Noble Prize ranks filled with Africans.

Considering the multitude of amazing accomplishments by people of African descent, I'd have to say that lack was due to racism.

[loCAtek]

It is more commonly referred to (albeit incorrectly & politically unacceptably) as the 'basketball gene'.

Well, at least they didn't call it The Tap Dancing Gene....

They better not, 'tap dancing' was an Americanizing of Irish Stepdancing, better known today as Riverdance.

That was a result of the racially diverse crews on the railroads; Blacks and Irish (mainly) on the East Coast; and Mexicans and Chinese (mainly) on the West Coast.

In the East, the technique of pulling up a railroad tie by jumping or dancing, with the full weight of your whole body on a giant pull-up bar; was accentuated by the Irish with their native Stepdancing. Their fellow Black workmen, took notice of this and made it more colloquial, which in turn- became what is known as Tap Dancing in the US.

[Sean]

I've never heard the 'railroad' history. It sounds extremely unlikely to me. It much more likely came from early vaudeville/minstrel shows.

[loCAtek]

Minstrel Shows were parodies of Black American culture.

The Origin of Tap Dance

Nobody could have predicted that the collision of cultures in the New World centuries ago would result in Tap, the uniquely American dance form. Yet the fusion of British Isles Clog and Step dancing with the rhythms of West African drumming and dancing in colonial times created an ever-evolving art form that continues to flourish today.

In the mid-1600s, Scottish and Irish indentured laborers brought their social dances to the New World. Slaves in the southern United States imitated the rapid toe and heel action of the Irish Jig and the percussive sensibility of the Lancashire Clog, and combined them with West African step dances that were known as "Juba" dances and "Ring Shouts." As a result, African dance styles became more formal and diluted, while European elements became more fluid and rhythmic, eventually resulting in a uniquely American Tap hybrid.

But Tap didn't become a stage dance until the rise of the Minstrel Show in the late 1800s.

Meaning the dance was around before the stage shows. +

Where did they come together:

Gandy Dancers;

While most southern railroad maintenance workers were African American, gandy dancers were not strictly southern or African American. Section crews were often made up of recent immigrants and ethnic minorities who vied for steady work despite poor wages and working conditions, and hard physical labor. The Chinese, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans in the West, the Irish in the Midwest, and East Europeans and Italians in the Northeast laid and maintained track as well. Though all gandy dancers sang railroad songs, it may be that black gandy dancers, with a long tradition of using song to coordinate work, were unique in their use of task-related work chants.[25]

[Sean]

Actually, what you posted gives more weight to my theory not yours. Thanks for saving me the trouble of researching it.

[dales]

A population with a wider and deeper genome has the potential to produce more people at the extremes of human ability (both up and down).

Yes, I've just noticed all the Noble Prize ranks filled with Africans.

You really are an amazingly stupid jackass sometimes.

yrs,
rubato

Thanks

[dales]

A population with a wider and deeper genome has the potential to produce more people at the extremes of human ability (both up and down).

Yes, I've just noticed all the Noble Prize ranks filled with Africans.

Considering the multitude of amazing accomplishments by people of African descent, I'd have to say that lack was due to racism.

Yeah, sure.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Name Country Year Prize
Camus, Albert Algeria 1957 Literature
Cohen-Tannoudji, Claude Algeria 1997 Physics
Al-Sadat, Mohamed Anwar Egypt 1978 Peace
Mahfouz, Naguib Egypt 1988 Literature
Zewail, Ahmed Hassan Egypt 1999 Chemistry
El Baradei, Mohamed Egypt 2005 Peace
Annan, Kofi Ghana 2001 Peace
Maathai, Wangari Kenya 2004 Peace
Soyinka, Wole Nigeria 1986 Literature
Theiler, Max South Africa 1951 Medicine
Luthuli, Albert John South Africa 1960 Peace
Cormack, Alan McLeod South Africa 1979 Medicine
Klug, Aaron South Africa 1982 Chemistry
Tutu, Desmond Mpilu South Africa 1984 Peace
Gordimer, Nadine South Africa 1991 Literature
De Klerk, Frederik Willem South Africa 1993 Peace
Mandela, Nelson South Africa 1993 Peace
Brenner, Sydney South Africa 2002 Medicine
Coetzee, John Maxwell South Africa 2003 Literature
Lessing, Doris Zimbabwe 2007 Literature

Maybe a list of all those "amazing accomplishments" might help

Meade

[dales]

Thanks, Gen'l.

While some hurl insults, other post FACTS.

[loCAtek]

Actually, what you posted gives more weight to my theory not yours. Thanks for saving me the trouble of researching it.

You do research? What part of "the dance was around before the stage shows" didn't you understand?