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The so-called Arse/Elbow binary - a thread.
I realise many of you will find yourselves, as I do, endlessly having to argue whether arses and elbows are a binary, as traditionally believed, or in the light of modern science, are better conceived of as in some sense a spectrum.
I realise many of you will find yourselves, as I do, endlessly having to argue whether arses and elbows are a binary, as traditionally believed, or in the light of modern science, are better conceived of as in some sense a spectrum.
Traditionalists often wrongly assume that they can distinguish these two supposedly distinct phenomena simply by sight - that one never passes for the other. As Dilligaf (2014) demonstrates, this is now known not to be the case.
http://www.dr-dilligaf.org/arseorelbow/
http://www.dr-dilligaf.org/arseorelbow/
Is there a single property that definitively distinguishes the two? Grade school knowledge or 'common sense' would suggest there must be. One is a bony joint. The other is a fleshy orifice through which the body's toxic wastes are expelled.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_opposition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_opposition
But in fact it's not that simple. Modern science tells us that the very same set of genes is involved in producing both arses and elbows. And while arses never function as joints, there are a number of rare syndromes which prevent an elbow flexing.
…https://n1s1t23sxna2acyes3x4cz0h-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Epigenetic_mechanisms.jpg
…https://n1s1t23sxna2acyes3x4cz0h-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Epigenetic_mechanisms.jpg
Similarly while most arses are used to expel excreta, in various medical conditions this function is not present, and a colostomy bag must be fitted. Does this mean the arse ceases to be an arse? Naturally, not. So what IS the nature of arsehood? https://distincttoday.net/2020/05/07/queen-star-brian-may-72-hits-bum-note-as-he-is-sent-to-hospital-after-tearing-his-buttock-muscle/
You're probably falling back on that well-worn favourite of arse/elbow essentialists by now, and preparing to suggest that elbows never expel toxic waste. It is therefore time you educated yourself on the rare condition of excess uric acid, or 'gout'.
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/abs/10.7326/0003-4819-143-7-200510040-00009
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/abs/10.7326/0003-4819-143-7-200510040-00009
In this rare condition, uric acid over-accumulates in the joints, typically the ankles, neck and - very occasionally - elbows, and forms crystals. Over time, the crystalline structures puncture the ligament encapsulating the joint, and rupture the skin.
Excess uric acid and pus therefore can be excreted from the elbow, while the swelling makes it nearly impossible to flex, moving it in these cases almost entirely into the zone of the bimodal distribution we typically associate with arses. https://www.cureus.com/articles/26045-massive-gouty-tophi-presenting-as-pseudotumor-of-the-elbow-a-rare-presentation
Does this mean an elbow becomes an arse? Of course, no-one is saying that, that would be madness. It's to recognise that life is more complicated than the primary school science we all remember so clearly, in which arses and elbows were distinct.
/thread
http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/150025/8/rcsbull.2019.286.pdf
/thread
http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/150025/8/rcsbull.2019.286.pdf
tl;dr
Old, uncool, paradigm for boomers and other shitheads vs. the new, sexy, visually-informed genius for the best you that you can be.
Old, uncool, paradigm for boomers and other shitheads vs. the new, sexy, visually-informed genius for the best you that you can be.
