From Albino to White??

Question

I see albino people occasionally but today I saw an African girl who appeared to be a complete albino. blonde hair, blonde eyelashes, white skin. It made me wonder if that is where white race appeared from, since first man was African. Differences in animals, say dogs, are due to selective breeding. traits don't just appear, but for some reason science books give us a very vague description of race, saying that Africans traveled to europe where they developed light skin. We never apply such a vague theory to animals, usually scientists will discuss natural selection, where mutations in the genes that manifest physically can be selcted by nature as advantageous. If an African man and his family lived in scandinavia for even 500 or 1000 years, I don't believe that he would eventually become white. If he had an albino offspring, however, could not that be naturally selected as an advantage in that climate?

on a website about albino people, it said that there are varying degrees of albinism. some forms are more severe than others. Blue eyes can be a symptom of albinism, as well as blonde or red hair, green or red eyes. What if there was an original African population, that migrated to Europe ssome half a million or more years ago. Then one or two albinos born within this population found themselves to be better survivors in the harsh and cold European environment. the darker skinned people died out over time, leaving a population of albino, white homo sapiens. These people were naturally selected for high nasal bridges and smaller mouths. straighter hair was selected over coarse. These facial features can and do exist in African/Black popoulations, so couldnt this be the race was formed, scientifically speaking? I know this is just a theory, but it makes logical sense once you get past the part that albism is considered a defect.

http://www.albinism.org/publications/what_is_albinism.html

The bone structure of whites, high nasal bridges, and straight hair......all these traits can be found in African populations. The straight hair can be found among the native Blacks of Australia. An albino aborigine could be virtually indistinguishable from a white person, if he or she happended to have the right combination of facial features. I believe my thinking is more logical, because obviously I have given the subject more thought than "Just a Guy", with his very vague and ill-conceived theory.

Answer 1

Albinism is a relatively rare genetic fluke that can, and does, occur in all races. Whites did not come from albinos.

There is no rhyme nor reason for where it pops up.

You said: "on a website about albino people, it said that there are varying degrees of albinism. some forms are more severe than others. Blue eyes can be a symptom of albinism, as well as blonde or red hair, green or red eyes"

I would be very interested in that website. From what I have been taught (including in my medical training) albinism is the absolute lack of pigmentation in skin, hair, eyes, etc. I have never heard of any partial albinos.

If the theory that we all evolved from Africa, then we all, originally, could be traced millenia ago to black roots. However, albinism is a recessive gene that shows up with no rhyme nor reason and there is no logic behind the belief that whites evolved from albino blacks.

It is more rational to me to believe that, if we all evolved from blacks, we developed via natural selection and evolution into the races and ethnicities that are currently here. The albinism gene could have come into this anywhere.

Another thing that belies the "whites evolved from albino blacks" theory is the other differences: bone structure, hair, etc.

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To the asker:

You are a rude little thing. Insults are never needed. I would actually look at the website but I do not bother dealing with rude creatures. Rudeness is not the way to change a person's opinion.

Have a nice day.

Answer 2

I think that you need to do a little research. What scientists described is someone with a lot of melanin in their skin living in an environment where their body does not receive much sun. Over time, they will start to lose some of that melanin, because they do not need as much protection from the sun, and will pass on this trait to their offspring. Where you live dictates how dark or light you are(as far as determining how and when the different races developed), especially in ancient times, where people did not migrate to new areas of the world very quickly. It's no different than getting a tan during the summer when the sun is higher in the sky and the days are longer(meaning that you receive more sunlight), and then losing your tan during the winter months when the sun is lower in the sky and the days are shorter. Only difference is that it took thousands of years for what the scientists describe, compared to the few weeks that it will take you to lose that tan. Albinism is a recessive genetic trait that people would not purposely try to pass on, as people with it tend to have a higher incidence of skin cancer, due to lack of protection from UV rays and sometimes vision problems. And by the way, white people do have melanin in their skin; all races do.

Answer 3

it makes logical sense, and since its a defect, i doubt white scientists would ever out that in a textbook. Its still just a theory, like everything in science, but if it was true, it would mean there is really no "white race".
**and "Dawn", there is a website that says that albinos can have red hair, blue eyes, and other traits. its the national website for albinism. its funny how some white people will quickly throw bogus info at you or a random well-known unresearched factoid, and never research it for themselves. they do that A LOT on yahoo answers.

***Edit***
Dawn, are you really harping on that one detail? Red and red tinged COULD mean the same thing. Red-tinged could mean orange, and I see more "orangey" natural redheads than ACTUAL red-heads. And did you even read that site. That site has more facts than you seem to be able to process. Good day.

Answer 4

whites, genetically, are albinos. even with the reality that that's now no longer interpreted this manner, they're considered a genetic abnormality, as some thing of the "hue-guy" race is made from folk of colour.

Answer 5

I'd like to see your site that claims red hair and green eyes for albinos. That particular mutation is due to a lack of color pigmant. RED, in case you did not know, is a color.

Edit to add...Rian, as I said, I would like to see that site. I did not claim it true or false, simply said that lack of color pigmant is what causes an albino. The site you state says red-tinged hair, not RED. I did NOT say anyone lied. Get YOUR facts straight before correcting someone else.