Could there be a Gnarly Man in current times?

[Tony Nance]

So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick
summary for context:

This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.
He most definitely looks the part, and he’s intelligent, articulate,
knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc, A fundamental part
of his long-term survival has been to avoid attention - nothing high
profile or noteworthy, move on to a new place every 10-15 years (sooner
if necessary), etc.[1]

That said, throughout his 52,000 years, he has pretty consistently been
part of society, not some sort of loner hiding out in the wilds. Here,
we initially find him performing as an ape-man in a carnival show.
During the story he mentions he has also been a blacksmith, a maker of
false teeth (he says he invented them [2]), a wagon driver (transporting
goods), a professional wrestler, an archer in a Briton army (vs the
Romans), a cabbie, and he ran a sawmill. (I may have missed some.)

And this made me wonder:
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Tony, having some initial thoughts, but curious about yours

[1] Poul Anderson revisits this mode of survival for immortals in The
Boat of A Million Years. Of course, in Poul’s book, the immortals are
modern-type humans who don’t look any different.

[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and he
hadn’t invented false teeth yet.

[Christian Weisgerber]

Post by Tony Nance
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.
He most definitely looks the part,

So with modern clothing and grooming he'll blend right in.
I'm sorry, were you under the impression--as a writer in 1939 might
have been--that a Neanderthal would noticeably stand out?

Post by Tony Nance
and he’s intelligent, articulate,
knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

That we don't know. The language ability of Neanderthals has
attracted plenty of attention, but the anatomical details mostly
hinge on soft tissue that doesn't fossilize, never mind that we
don't know their cognitive abilities. I guess the recent trend is
to _assume_ by default that they were very much like H. sapiens,
but we don't know.

Post by Tony Nance
Given his obvious physical differences,

Bzzt. _If_ he can articulate and cognitively handle H. sapiens
languages, he'll pass.

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.


ObFiction:

* One of the early _Anita Blake_ novels has a vampire so old that
he pre-dates Homo sapiens.

* I was amused by that _CSI_ episode where the team was baffled
by a dead body found in the desert. No head, hands or feet, and
skinned. Eww. Something just felt off, so Grissom called in an
old flame^W^Wexpert anthropologist, who pointed out that they
were looking at a gorilla.

[Titus G]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.
He most definitely looks the part,

So with modern clothing and grooming he'll blend right in.
I'm sorry, were you under the impression--as a writer in 1939 might
have been--that a Neanderthal would noticeably stand out?

I certainly was before a web search for images. Perhaps Neanderthals
also changed considerably in appearance over 360,000 years?

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and he’s intelligent, articulate,
knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

That we don't know.

We do know. Tony Vance has read the book and told us so.

[Michael F. Stemper]

Post by Titus G

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and he’s intelligent, articulate,
knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

That we don't know.

We do know. Tony Vance has read the book and told us so.

"Nance", with an "N".

[Christian Weisgerber]

Post by Titus G

Post by Christian Weisgerber
So with modern clothing and grooming he'll blend right in.
I'm sorry, were you under the impression--as a writer in 1939 might
have been--that a Neanderthal would noticeably stand out?

I certainly was before a web search for images. Perhaps Neanderthals
also changed considerably in appearance over 360,000 years?

Attitudes have simply become less racist over the last hundred
years.

[Cryptoengineer]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Titus G

Post by Christian Weisgerber
So with modern clothing and grooming he'll blend right in.
I'm sorry, were you under the impression--as a writer in 1939 might
have been--that a Neanderthal would noticeably stand out?

I certainly was before a web search for images. Perhaps Neanderthals
also changed considerably in appearance over 360,000 years?

Attitudes have simply become less racist over the last hundred
years.

The first depictions were based on a description of a skeleton
with a spinal disease, resulting in a bent over posture.

pt

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.
He most definitely looks the part,

So with modern clothing and grooming he'll blend right in.
I'm sorry, were you under the impression--as a writer in 1939 might
have been--that a Neanderthal would noticeably stand out?

and he’s intelligent, articulate,
knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

That we don't know. The language ability of Neanderthals has
attracted plenty of attention, but the anatomical details mostly
hinge on soft tissue that doesn't fossilize, never mind that we
don't know their cognitive abilities. I guess the recent trend is
to _assume_ by default that they were very much like H. sapiens,
but we don't know.

Given his obvious physical differences,

Bzzt. _If_ he can articulate and cognitively handle H. sapiens
languages, he'll pass.

and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

Well, if you have someone of impeccable character like Doc Savage
to vouch for you, and a skilled lawyer like Ham Brooks to do your
paperwork (while carefully seeming not too chummy..), there's no
limit to how far you could go.

[Michael F. Stemper]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

Well, if you have someone of impeccable character like Doc Savage
to vouch for you, and a skilled lawyer like Ham Brooks to do your
paperwork (while carefully seeming not too chummy..), there's no
limit to how far you could go.

All the way to the 86th floor, one would presume.

[Tony Nance]

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

Well, if you have someone of impeccable character like Doc Savage
to vouch for you, and a skilled lawyer like Ham Brooks to do your
paperwork (while carefully seeming not too chummy..), there's no
limit to how far you could go.

All the way to the 86th floor, one would presume.

Nice - both of you!

[D]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal
be able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?

If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But
living in a city being a part of society?

I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a lot
easier perhaps. Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the street in a
warm location.

Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the person
manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and changing
identities a lot easier.

[Chris Buckley]

Post by D

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal
be able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?
If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But
living in a city being a part of society?
I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a lot
easier perhaps. Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the street in a
warm location.

What? How many millions of undocumented immigrants are living in the US
now?

Post by D
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the person
manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and changing
identities a lot easier.

It makes some things easier, but others harder. Maintaining usable
access to all that money while being part of society is tough. By
now, it probably has to be illegally (on top of the identity issues)
and money transfers (changing from one form of the wealth to another)
are difficult with the methodology having to constantly change over
the decades.

Chris

[D]

Post by Chris Buckley

Post by D

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal
be able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?
If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But
living in a city being a part of society?
I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a lot
easier perhaps. Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the street in a
warm location.

What? How many millions of undocumented immigrants are living in the US
now?

Yes, that's kind of what I had in mind. Good point.

Post by Chris Buckley

Post by D
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the person
manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and changing
identities a lot easier.

It makes some things easier, but others harder. Maintaining usable
access to all that money while being part of society is tough. By
now, it probably has to be illegally (on top of the identity issues)
and money transfers (changing from one form of the wealth to another)
are difficult with the methodology having to constantly change over
the decades.
Chris

I'm not so sure. Plenty of russian oligarchs are playing around the world,
despite being russian oligarchs. The founder of Ikea also comes to mind,
having very little official control, but having layers and layers of
companies and non-profits in a very convoluted structure.

What many big time criminals in sweden do is to find goalies to front for
them.

I don't think it is difficult at all if you are a billionaire, and
especially if you got started before the current surveillance era. Getting
started today anonymously is of course much more difficult in the west,
but creative utilization of various direct or indirect authoritarian
regimes I think it should be possible.

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by D

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal
be able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?
If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But
living in a city being a part of society?
I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a
lot easier perhaps. Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the
street in a warm location.
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the person
manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and changing
identities a lot easier.

Heinlein addressed hiding in plain sight for very long lived people in
his "Methuselah's Children", "Time Enough For Love", and "To Sail Beyond
The Sunset" books.

Lynn

[D]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal be
able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?
If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But living
in a city being a part of society?
I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a lot
easier perhaps. Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the street in a
warm location.
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the person
manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and changing
identities a lot easier.

Heinlein addressed hiding in plain sight for very long lived people in his
"Methuselah's Children", "Time Enough For Love", and "To Sail Beyond The
Sunset" books.
Lynn

Thank you for the recommendation Lynn! I have heard of Methuselahs
children, so might pick that one up.

[Tony Nance]

Post by D

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal
be able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?
If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But
living in a city being a part of society?
I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a
lot easier perhaps.

It's not explicit in de Camp's story, but from other parts of the story,
one could reasonably infer that he needs to eat, could die in a car
wreck, etc. That is, he's immortal in the sense that he's not aging, but
he's susceptible to the other stuff we die from. Nothing was said about
diseases at all, so that's undetermined.

Post by D
Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the
street in a warm location.
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the person
manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and changing
identities a lot easier.

de Camp also never brought up compound interest or banking in general.
Then again, it is a short story - 25 pages in my MMPB.
- Tony

[D]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal be
able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?
If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But living
in a city being a part of society?
I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a lot
easier perhaps.

It's not explicit in de Camp's story, but from other parts of the story, one
could reasonably infer that he needs to eat, could die in a car wreck, etc.
That is, he's immortal in the sense that he's not aging, but he's susceptible
to the other stuff we die from. Nothing was said about diseases at all, so
that's undetermined.

If that is the case... then I would be curious about probability of
accident if you live for 1000s of years. It seems to me, that if you
looked at some actuarial tables, there would be plenty of chances that
something completely unlikely would take you out eventually.

But, for the sake of this thought experiment, I think it is more fun to
assume, that he's just a lucky guy from that point of view. ;)

Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the street in a warm location.
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the person
manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and changing
identities a lot easier.

de Camp also never brought up compound interest or banking in general. Then
again, it is a short story - 25 pages in my MMPB.
- Tony

I think in the epic modern classic Highlander, Mccloud deals in antiques.
I think that's another possibility if you are immortal.

[Michael F. Stemper]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

This to me is the most interesting part of the puzzle. Would an immortal be able to hide his secret with modern technology, ID:s and all?
If the person stuck to remote, rural villages, I see no problem. But living in a city being a part of society?
I guess, if you are immortal and you don't have to eat, it would be a lot easier perhaps.

It's not explicit in de Camp's story, but from other parts of the story, one could reasonably infer that he needs to eat, could die in a car wreck, etc. That is, he's immortal in the sense that he's not aging, but he's susceptible to the other stuff we die from. Nothing was said about diseases at all, so that's undetermined.

If that is the case... then I would be curious about probability of accident if you live for 1000s of years. It seems to me, that if you looked at some actuarial tables, there would be plenty of chances that something completely unlikely would take you out eventually.

Just from a probabilistic point of view, the likelihood of accident will
increase with life-span, although not linearly.

Niven had a interesting approach in "Grendel" (part of his Known Space
setting). Multi-century life spans are possible. As people age, they
actually get better at doing physical things and thus become much less
likely to have accidents.

The social side of this is that some people who do not want to be
identified as old deliberately stumble, bump into chairs, and so on,
hiding their natural grace.

[Robert Carnegie]

Post by Tony Nance

Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the street in a warm location.
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the
person manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and
changing identities a lot easier.

de Camp also never brought up compound interest or banking in general.
Then again, it is a short story - 25 pages in my MMPB.
- Tony

This probably is covered in... yup:
<https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit>

Ironically "The Time Eater" Web site!

I Don't remember it, but there's a cite
of _The Time Machine_ - where apparently
the idea is shot down. The book has had
various editions, so they may vary.

"In one _Red Dwarf_ episode, it is revealed
that Dave left GBP 17.50 in his bank account
on Earth. Three million years have passed,
and he now owns 98% of the world's wealth.
He also left a sausage out on his table
which went mouldy; now the mould covers
seven-eights of the surface of the Earth.
Furthermore, he left the lightbulb on in
his bathroom, racking up a gigantic debt to
the local utility company, which has now
become the ruling faction on Earth and whose
battle fleet is rapidly approaching in an
_Attempt To Collect._". (This is wrapped up
with a cunning plot twist.)

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Robert Carnegie

Post by Tony Nance

Then you could just live as a crazy guy on the street in a warm location.
Another road to victory might be the extreme opposite in case the
person manages to become a billionaire. That might make hiding and
changing identities a lot easier.

de Camp also never brought up compound interest or banking in general.
Then again, it is a short story - 25 pages in my MMPB.
- Tony

<https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit>
Ironically "The Time Eater" Web site!
I Don't remember it, but there's a cite
of _The Time Machine_ - where apparently
the idea is shot down. The book has had
various editions, so they may vary.
"In one _Red Dwarf_ episode, it is revealed
that Dave left GBP 17.50 in his bank account
on Earth. Three million years have passed,
and he now owns 98% of the world's wealth.
He also left a sausage out on his table
which went mouldy; now the mould covers
seven-eights of the surface of the Earth.
Furthermore, he left the lightbulb on in
his bathroom, racking up a gigantic debt to
the local utility company, which has now
become the ruling faction on Earth and whose
battle fleet is rapidly approaching in an
_Attempt To Collect._". (This is wrapped up
with a cunning plot twist.)

Pohl did a twist on it as well. The sleeper work with a considerable fortune
by his standards and blew through it over a couple of very pleasant days
in the future. (It wasn't inflation: He could have lived a 20th century
lifestyle for quite a while, there was just a lot of cool new stuff that
was very expensive).

[Paul S Person]

On Tue, 7 May 2024 21:46:57 -0000 (UTC), Christian Weisgerber

Post by Christian Weisgerber

This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.
He most definitely looks the part,

So with modern clothing and grooming he'll blend right in.
I'm sorry, were you under the impression--as a writer in 1939 might
have been--that a Neanderthal would noticeably stand out?

Well, after watching /Gone, Baby, Gone/ [1] I came to the conclusion
that I was basically watching a bunch of Orcs in an Orcish society
masquerading as a society of Men.

[1] Not to be confused with /Gone Girl/, which is, if nothing else,
one heck of a character study.

[Tony Nance]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.
He most definitely looks the part,

So with modern clothing and grooming he'll blend right in.
I'm sorry, were you under the impression--as a writer in 1939 might
have been--that a Neanderthal would noticeably stand out?

Huh? Oh, I see - yeah, that's surely a reasonable inference, and it's my
fault I left it ambiguous. I had the full context of the story in my
head when I wrote the post - although it's the inspiration from the
story, "Neanderthal" is almost a red herring here. My wondering is more
about modern technology and its effects on money, identity, etc; and, if
someone is very physically distinctive, I think cameras could make
things a little difficult too.

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and he’s intelligent, articulate,
knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

That we don't know. The language ability of Neanderthals has
attracted plenty of attention, but the anatomical details mostly
hinge on soft tissue that doesn't fossilize, never mind that we
don't know their cognitive abilities. I guess the recent trend is
to _assume_ by default that they were very much like H. sapiens,
but we don't know.

Post by Tony Nance
Given his obvious physical differences,

Bzzt. _If_ he can articulate and cognitively handle H. sapiens
languages, he'll pass.

He was already "passing" in de Camp's story (look at the list of jobs in
the original post), though de Camp did mention that the protagonist had
some rare and unusual physical traits.

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Tony Nance
and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

Maintaining fake identities is becoming ever more difficult, I
think.

Me too.
Tony

Post by Christian Weisgerber
* One of the early _Anita Blake_ novels has a vampire so old that
he pre-dates Homo sapiens.
* I was amused by that _CSI_ episode where the team was baffled
by a dead body found in the desert. No head, hands or feet, and
skinned. Eww. Something just felt off, so Grissom called in an
old flame^W^Wexpert anthropologist, who pointed out that they
were looking at a gorilla.

[Charles Packer]

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.

Looking at the Wikipedia entry, it makes me wonder at how many
times, over the years, the story's been anthologized. What's the world's
record holder for this phenomenon?

[Tony Nance]

Post by Charles Packer

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.

Looking at the Wikipedia entry, it makes me wonder at how many
times, over the years, the story's been anthologized. What's the world's
record holder for this phenomenon?

That is indeed a long list on the Wikipedia page, but I'm guessing there
are many other stories that have been anthologized more.[1] Maybe
Ahasuerus has a way to search for such a thing in isfdb?

Tony
[1] Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder must surely be one of them.

[Mickmane]

So I?m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I
just (re)read ?The Gnarly Man?. It made me wonder ... well, first a
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It?s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of
33. He most definitely looks the part, and he?s intelligent,
articulate, knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

[...]

Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology
and communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?

Modern reconstructions of Neanderthals wouldn't have them stand out at
all.

Tony, having some initial thoughts, but curious about yours
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

[Michael F. Stemper]

Post by Mickmane

So I?m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I
just (re)read ?The Gnarly Man?. It made me wonder ... well, first a
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It?s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of
33. He most definitely looks the part, and he?s intelligent,
articulate, knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

[...]

Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology
and communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?

Modern reconstructions of Neanderthals wouldn't have them stand out at
all.

This apparently was the case by 1958, when Asimov wrote "The Ugly Little Boy".

Post by Mickmane

[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick. Unlike
most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

So I?m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I
just (re)read ?The Gnarly Man?. It made me wonder ... well, first a
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It?s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of
33. He most definitely looks the part, and he?s intelligent,
articulate, knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc,

[...]

Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology
and communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?

Modern reconstructions of Neanderthals wouldn't have them stand out at
all.

This apparently was the case by 1958, when Asimov wrote "The Ugly Little Boy".

Post by Mickmane

[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick. Unlike
most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

We need to adapt shark technology to humans. Three rows of teeth with
new teeth being constantly generated as the old teeth fall out.

Lynn

[Michael F. Stemper]

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick. Unlike
most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

We need to adapt shark technology to humans.  Three rows of teeth with new teeth being constantly generated as the old teeth fall out.

Where would we put our tongues?

[Tony Nance]

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick. Unlike
most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

We need to adapt shark technology to humans.  Three rows of teeth with
new teeth being constantly generated as the old teeth fall out.

Where would we put our tongues?

We need to adapt shark-tooth technology to human tongues.

Or maybe we need to adapt giraffe technology to human tongues. Per the
Cleveland Zoological Society:

"Just like an elephant's trunk or a monkey's tail – giraffe have a
prehensile tongue! Basically it means they have fine muscular control
allowing them to grasp and hold things. A giraffe's tongue is also the
strongest of any animal, and it can be an impressive 18 inches long!"

Tony

[Scott Dorsey]

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick. Unlike
most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

We need to adapt shark technology to humans.  Three rows of teeth with new teeth being constantly generated as the old teeth fall out.

Where would we put our tongues?

NOW! This is a family newsgroup.
--scott

[BCFD 36]

Post by Scott Dorsey

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick. Unlike
most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

We need to adapt shark technology to humans.  Three rows of teeth with new teeth being constantly generated as the old teeth fall out.

Where would we put our tongues?

NOW! This is a family newsgroup.
--scott

Not hardly!!! Is there anyone here under the age of 50?

[Mickmane]

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out
and he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick.
Unlike most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

Hrmpf. Either it all repairs itself so he can live forever, or nothing
does and it's some magic keeping him alive, including the teeth. :P

[Cryptoengineer]

Post by Mickmane

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out
and he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick.
Unlike most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

Hrmpf. Either it all repairs itself so he can live forever, or nothing
does and it's some magic keeping him alive, including the teeth. :P

I feel like throwing in that modern humans have some Neanderthal DNA.
23andMe tells me that I have more markers than 99% of their customer
base, which probably puts me around 2% caveman.

pt

[Mike Spencer]

Post by Cryptoengineer
I feel like throwing in that modern humans have some Neanderthal DNA.
23andMe tells me that I have more markers than 99% of their customer
base, which probably puts me around 2% caveman.

YADATROT:

That always reminds of The Seeking Sword, a crude weapon somehow
imbued with discrimination between a racial/species distinction that
has become completely lost and merged in the modern genetic pool. But
not for the sword or the entity/power that inhabits it and is,
millennia later, still bent on vengeance.

[Robert Woodward]

Post by Mike Spencer

Post by Cryptoengineer
I feel like throwing in that modern humans have some Neanderthal DNA.
23andMe tells me that I have more markers than 99% of their customer
base, which probably puts me around 2% caveman.

That always reminds of The Seeking Sword, a crude weapon somehow
imbued with discrimination between a racial/species distinction that
has become completely lost and merged in the modern genetic pool. But
not for the sword or the entity/power that inhabits it and is,
millennia later, still bent on vengeance.

IIRC, the shaman who created it (and who animates it) wasn't Neanderthal.

[Robert Carnegie]

Post by Mike Spencer

Post by Cryptoengineer
I feel like throwing in that modern humans have some Neanderthal DNA.
23andMe tells me that I have more markers than 99% of their customer
base, which probably puts me around 2% caveman.

https://www.acronymfinder.com/Yet-Another-Desperate-Attempt-to-Remain-On_Topic-(forum-posts)-(YADATROT).html

Post by Mike Spencer
That always reminds of The Seeking Sword, a crude weapon somehow
imbued with discrimination between a racial/species distinction that
has become completely lost and merged in the modern genetic pool. But
not for the sword or the entity/power that inhabits it and is,
millennia later, still bent on vengeance.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Sword-Jaan-Kangilaski/dp/0345256506

(presumably, and if so, then somewhat spoiled)

The magic sword in _The Colour of Magic_
comes to mind as having goals incompatible
with another character's.

I don't remember if these weapons also sing.

[Robert Woodward]

Post by Cryptoengineer

Post by Mickmane

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out
and he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick.
Unlike most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

Hrmpf. Either it all repairs itself so he can live forever, or nothing
does and it's some magic keeping him alive, including the teeth. :P

I feel like throwing in that modern humans have some Neanderthal DNA.
23andMe tells me that I have more markers than 99% of their customer
base, which probably puts me around 2% caveman.

My brow ridge is more prominent than in many people I have met.

[Mickmane]

Post by Cryptoengineer

Post by Mickmane

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out
and he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick.
Unlike most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

Hrmpf. Either it all repairs itself so he can live forever, or
nothing does and it's some magic keeping him alive, including the
teeth. :P

I feel like throwing in that modern humans have some Neanderthal DNA.

That, too. Up to 4% in European and I think middle-eastern descendent.
From all those docus I have running in the background usually, I am
certain no Neanderthal genes in African (*) people, but forgot about
Asian (*), and no idea about American natives.

(*) These days stuff's pretty mixed of course, but this is about those
great wanderings homo sapiens did some long time ago, spreading over the
globe.

Post by Cryptoengineer
23andMe tells me that I have more markers than 99% of their customer
base,

Is that some online site for checking your DNA?

Post by Cryptoengineer
which probably puts me around 2% caveman.

Looking at the world, I think we're all 100% cavemen, just with fancy
tools.

Ok, some are more caveman-wanting-to-wield-club than caveman-drawing-
pictures-on-the-caves.

[Paul S Person]

On Thu, 9 May 2024 16:19:19 -0400, Cryptoengineer

Post by Cryptoengineer

Post by Mickmane

Post by Michael F. Stemper

Post by Mickmane

Post by Tony Nance
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out
and he hadn?t invented false teeth yet.

With your description of the book (which I don't know), I'm now
wondering how his teeth wore out, but not the rest of his body.

Presumably, the friction involved in chewing would do the trick.
Unlike most of the body, teeth aren't self-repairing.

Hrmpf. Either it all repairs itself so he can live forever, or nothing
does and it's some magic keeping him alive, including the teeth. :P

I feel like throwing in that modern humans have some Neanderthal DNA.
23andMe tells me that I have more markers than 99% of their customer
base, which probably puts me around 2% caveman.

From Bing:

"Approximately 20 percent of Neanderthal DNA survives in modern
humans; however, a single human has an average of around 2%
Neanderthal DNA overall with some countries and backgrounds having a
maximum of 3% per human."

Note the distinction between the total percent survivng in modern
humans as a whole and the amounts in a given individual. One might
regard this as a Neanderthal DNA survival strategy.

Ironically, it is Northern Europeans who tend to have more. So much
for White people even existing in the "not one drop" sense. And that's
ignoring Ghenghis Khan!

This all depends on the science working correctly. Currently, IIRC,
pretty much all modern groups are considered mixtures of earlier
groups, and some of those earlier groups haven't been found yet. IOW,
there are /no/ pure humans (if humans are defined as homo sapiens)/.
In this context, "working correctly" means that such groups actually
did exist, and are not merely figments of an overzealous analysis.

Of course, this science is relatively new, and changes can be expected
on a regular recurring basis.

[Christian Weisgerber]

Post by Paul S Person
Note the distinction between the total percent survivng in modern
humans as a whole and the amounts in a given individual. One might
regard this as a Neanderthal DNA survival strategy.
Ironically, it is Northern Europeans who tend to have more. So much
for White people even existing in the "not one drop" sense. And that's
ignoring Ghenghis Khan!

Oh, it gets better. Mesolithic European hunter gatherers were dark
skinned. Light skin came with agriculture, both the immigration
of farmers from the Middle East and, presumably, the practice as
such also providing selection pressure. And for a decade or so
we've finally had genetic confirmation of the common sense assumption
that the spread of the Indo-European languages into Europe was
accompanied by a significant migration from the Eurasian steppe.


ObSF:
The temporally transplanted stone age humans in the Norwegian TV
show _Beforeigners_ should not be pasty white. I don't know if the
makers of the show were aware, but presumably the pool of available
actors sets practical limits there.

[Paul S Person]

On Fri, 10 May 2024 21:30:27 -0000 (UTC), Christian Weisgerber

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by Paul S Person
Note the distinction between the total percent survivng in modern
humans as a whole and the amounts in a given individual. One might
regard this as a Neanderthal DNA survival strategy.
Ironically, it is Northern Europeans who tend to have more. So much
for White people even existing in the "not one drop" sense. And that's
ignoring Ghenghis Khan!

Oh, it gets better. Mesolithic European hunter gatherers were dark
skinned. Light skin came with agriculture, both the immigration
of farmers from the Middle East and, presumably, the practice as
such also providing selection pressure. And for a decade or so
we've finally had genetic confirmation of the common sense assumption
that the spread of the Indo-European languages into Europe was
accompanied by a significant migration from the Eurasian steppe.
The temporally transplanted stone age humans in the Norwegian TV
show _Beforeigners_ should not be pasty white. I don't know if the
makers of the show were aware, but presumably the pool of available
actors sets practical limits there.

Hey, at least they didn't use white actors in black makeup. Shows they
have /some/ sense.

[James Nicoll]

So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp

Ah, I read that under unusual circumstances: it's one of the books
I had with me at my father's funeral, along with the July 1978 Analog.

The Analog had reviews of a bunch of old books but I no longer
remember Lester del Rey's reason for that.

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by James Nicoll

So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp

Ah, I read that under unusual circumstances: it's one of the books
I had with me at my father's funeral, along with the July 1978 Analog.

Was recently reading Dozois' _The Year's Best Science Fiction, 10th edition_
and there is rather odd De Camp story about a spanish explorer and his
native american wife in China.

I wasn't impressed.

In fact, the first dozen stories were so depressing that I
haven't picked it back up. The Stanwick was just depressing,
the Willis was a screed against menstruation, the De Camp
had odd racial overtones.

I suppose some of the ones I haven't gotten to (like Clark's
_The Hammer of God_) will probably be worth reading. Someday.

[James Nicoll]

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by James Nicoll

So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp

Ah, I read that under unusual circumstances: it's one of the books
I had with me at my father's funeral, along with the July 1978 Analog.

Was recently reading Dozois' _The Year's Best Science Fiction, 10th edition_
and there is rather odd De Camp story about a spanish explorer and his
native american wife in China.
I wasn't impressed.
In fact, the first dozen stories were so depressing that I
haven't picked it back up. The Stanwick was just depressing,
the Willis was a screed against menstruation, the De Camp
had odd racial overtones.
I suppose some of the ones I haven't gotten to (like Clark's
_The Hammer of God_) will probably be worth reading. Someday.

I regret to report that was a low point for the Dozois series and
(if his notes can be trusted) SF in general.

The Clarke is a pretty forgettable short story and an even more
forgettable novel.

[Robert Woodward]

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by James Nicoll

So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp

Ah, I read that under unusual circumstances: it's one of the books
I had with me at my father's funeral, along with the July 1978 Analog.

Was recently reading Dozois' _The Year's Best Science Fiction, 10th edition_
and there is rather odd De Camp story about a spanish explorer and his
native american wife in China.

It was set in a Ming Chinese settlement in an alternate California.

[Cryptoengineer]

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33.
He most definitely looks the part, and he’s intelligent, articulate,
knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc, A fundamental part
of his long-term survival has been to avoid attention - nothing high
profile or noteworthy, move on to a new place every 10-15 years (sooner
if necessary), etc.[1]
That said, throughout his 52,000 years, he has pretty consistently been
part of society, not some sort of loner hiding out in the wilds. Here,
we initially find him performing as an ape-man in a carnival show.
During the story he mentions he has also been a blacksmith, a maker of
false teeth (he says he invented them [2]), a wagon driver (transporting
goods), a professional wrestler, an archer in a Briton army (vs the
Romans), a cabbie, and he ran a sawmill. (I may have missed some.)
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?
Tony, having some initial thoughts, but curious about yours
[1] Poul Anderson revisits this mode of survival for immortals in The
Boat of A Million Years. Of course, in Poul’s book, the immortals are
modern-type humans who don’t look any different.
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and he
hadn’t invented false teeth yet.

PJ Plauger also explored this in 'Child of all Ages'.

There, the protagonist also has the problem of appearing to be an 10
year old girl. Thus she both lacked much agency, and couldn't go too
long before her lack of aging was noticed.

An adult immortal could become quite rich through the effects of
compound interest. However, staying under the government's radar
becomes increasingly difficult.

pt

[Michael F. Stemper]

Post by Cryptoengineer

This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of 33. He most definitely looks the part, and he’s intelligent, articulate, knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc, A fundamental part of his long-term survival has been to avoid attention - nothing high profile or noteworthy, move on to a new place every 10-15 years (sooner if necessary), etc.[1]
That said, throughout his 52,000 years, he has pretty consistently been part of society, not some sort of loner hiding out in the wilds. Here, we initially find him performing as an ape-man in a carnival show. During the story he mentions he has also been a blacksmith, a maker of false teeth (he says he invented them [2]), a wagon driver (transporting goods), a professional wrestler, an archer in a Briton army (vs the Romans), a cabbie, and he ran a sawmill. (I may have missed some.)
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member of modern society and also avoid attention?
Tony, having some initial thoughts, but curious about yours
[1] Poul Anderson revisits this mode of survival for immortals in The Boat of A Million Years. Of course, in Poul’s book, the immortals are modern-type humans who don’t look any different.
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and he hadn’t invented false teeth yet.

PJ Plauger also explored this in 'Child of all Ages'.
There, the protagonist also has the problem of appearing to be an 10
year old girl. Thus she both lacked much agency, and couldn't go too
long before her lack of aging was noticed.

A possibly similar story is Gene Wolfe's "The Changeling". In this, it's
a boy of similar age. As the years go by, he goes from being the big
brother to the little brother, and then somehow to the kid in a different
family. Kind of a haunting story, really.

<https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?68394>

[Tony Nance]

Post by Cryptoengineer

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of
33. He most definitely looks the part, and he’s intelligent,
articulate, knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc, A
fundamental part of his long-term survival has been to avoid attention
- nothing high profile or noteworthy, move on to a new place every
10-15 years (sooner if necessary), etc.[1]
That said, throughout his 52,000 years, he has pretty consistently
been part of society, not some sort of loner hiding out in the wilds.
Here, we initially find him performing as an ape-man in a carnival
show. During the story he mentions he has also been a blacksmith, a
maker of false teeth (he says he invented them [2]), a wagon driver
(transporting goods), a professional wrestler, an archer in a Briton
army (vs the Romans), a cabbie, and he ran a sawmill. (I may have
missed some.)
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?
Tony, having some initial thoughts, but curious about yours
[1] Poul Anderson revisits this mode of survival for immortals in The
Boat of A Million Years. Of course, in Poul’s book, the immortals are
modern-type humans who don’t look any different.
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn’t invented false teeth yet.

PJ Plauger also explored this in 'Child of all Ages'.
There, the protagonist also has the problem of appearing to be an 10
year old girl. Thus she both lacked much agency, and couldn't go too
long before her lack of aging was noticed.
An adult immortal could become quite rich through the effects of
compound interest. However, staying under the government's radar
becomes increasingly difficult.

Agreed - both parts. As it turns out, de Camp did not mention banking or
compound interest in this story, so we don't know what he would have
thought about it.

Tony

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Tony Nance

Post by Cryptoengineer

So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of
33. He most definitely looks the part, and he’s intelligent,
articulate, knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc, A
fundamental part of his long-term survival has been to avoid attention
- nothing high profile or noteworthy, move on to a new place every
10-15 years (sooner if necessary), etc.[1]
That said, throughout his 52,000 years, he has pretty consistently
been part of society, not some sort of loner hiding out in the wilds.
Here, we initially find him performing as an ape-man in a carnival
show. During the story he mentions he has also been a blacksmith, a
maker of false teeth (he says he invented them [2]), a wagon driver
(transporting goods), a professional wrestler, an archer in a Briton
army (vs the Romans), a cabbie, and he ran a sawmill. (I may have
missed some.)
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?
Tony, having some initial thoughts, but curious about yours
[1] Poul Anderson revisits this mode of survival for immortals in The
Boat of A Million Years. Of course, in Poul’s book, the immortals are
modern-type humans who don’t look any different.
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn’t invented false teeth yet.

PJ Plauger also explored this in 'Child of all Ages'.
There, the protagonist also has the problem of appearing to be an 10
year old girl. Thus she both lacked much agency, and couldn't go too
long before her lack of aging was noticed.
An adult immortal could become quite rich through the effects of
compound interest. However, staying under the government's radar
becomes increasingly difficult.

Agreed - both parts. As it turns out, de Camp did not mention banking or
compound interest in this story, so we don't know what he would have
thought about it.

Neither did Reiner & Brooks that I can recall :-)

[Tony Nance]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Tony Nance

Post by Cryptoengineer

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick
This story was written in 1939 and is set in 1956. It’s about an
immortal Neanderthal - basically he stopped aging around the age of
33. He most definitely looks the part, and he’s intelligent,
articulate, knowledgable, knows dozens of languages, etc etc etc, A
fundamental part of his long-term survival has been to avoid attention
- nothing high profile or noteworthy, move on to a new place every
10-15 years (sooner if necessary), etc.[1]
That said, throughout his 52,000 years, he has pretty consistently
been part of society, not some sort of loner hiding out in the wilds.
Here, we initially find him performing as an ape-man in a carnival
show. During the story he mentions he has also been a blacksmith, a
maker of false teeth (he says he invented them [2]), a wagon driver
(transporting goods), a professional wrestler, an archer in a Briton
army (vs the Romans), a cabbie, and he ran a sawmill. (I may have
missed some.)
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?
Tony, having some initial thoughts, but curious about yours
[1] Poul Anderson revisits this mode of survival for immortals in The
Boat of A Million Years. Of course, in Poul’s book, the immortals are
modern-type humans who don’t look any different.
[2] He also invented soup, by necessity, since his teeth wore out and
he hadn’t invented false teeth yet.

PJ Plauger also explored this in 'Child of all Ages'.
There, the protagonist also has the problem of appearing to be an 10
year old girl. Thus she both lacked much agency, and couldn't go too
long before her lack of aging was noticed.
An adult immortal could become quite rich through the effects of
compound interest. However, staying under the government's radar
becomes increasingly difficult.

Agreed - both parts. As it turns out, de Camp did not mention banking or
compound interest in this story, so we don't know what he would have
thought about it.

Neither did Reiner & Brooks that I can recall :-)

At a mere 2000 years old, that could be due to inexperience.

[BCFD 36]

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick

[stuff deleted]

Post by Tony Nance
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

[more stuff deleted]

When I was at UC Berkeley, I was on a varsity team so was often in the
varsity locker room. Most of Cal's offensive and defensive linemen could
pass for, or maybe were, neanderthal. They were all wide and hairy and
would on occasion drag their knuckles. So, on a day to day basis, I
don't think they would have any problem passing in modern society.

Of course, a couple were so big that they more resembled Sasquatch. How
a 300 lb. man can be that quick on his feet is mind boggling.

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by BCFD 36

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick

[stuff deleted]

Post by Tony Nance
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?

[more stuff deleted]
When I was at UC Berkeley, I was on a varsity team so was often in the
varsity locker room. Most of Cal's offensive and defensive linemen could
pass for, or maybe were, neanderthal. They were all wide and hairy and
would on occasion drag their knuckles. So, on a day to day basis, I
don't think they would have any problem passing in modern society.
Of course, a couple were so big that they more resembled Sasquatch. How
a 300 lb. man can be that quick on his feet is mind boggling.

100 lb of it is muscles in his legs. :)

[Titus G]

Post by BCFD 36

Post by Tony Nance
So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick

[stuff deleted]

Post by Tony Nance
Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a
member of modern society and also avoid attention?

[more stuff deleted]
When I was at UC Berkeley, I was on a varsity team so was often in the
varsity locker room. Most of Cal's offensive and defensive linemen could
pass for, or maybe were, neanderthal. They were all wide and hairy and
would on occasion drag their knuckles. So, on a day to day basis, I
don't think they would have any problem passing in modern society.
Of course, a couple were so big that they more resembled Sasquatch. How
a 300 lb. man can be that quick on his feet is mind boggling.

As this 33 year old Neanderthal has been 33 years old for perhaps
400,000 years, he has probably learned to wash the mud off his face and
see a hairdresser. And having been around that long he is probably
wealthier than the legendary Rothschilds so won't be playing sport.

[James Nicoll]

Post by BCFD 36

So I’m making my way through The Best of L Sprague de Camp, and I just
(re)read “The Gnarly Man”. It made me wonder ... well, first a quick

[stuff deleted]

Given his obvious physical differences, and with modern technology and
communication being what it is, are there ways he could he stay a member
of modern society and also avoid attention?

[more stuff deleted]
When I was at UC Berkeley, I was on a varsity team so was often in the
varsity locker room. Most of Cal's offensive and defensive linemen could
pass for, or maybe were, neanderthal. They were all wide and hairy and
would on occasion drag their knuckles. So, on a day to day basis, I
don't think they would have any problem passing in modern society.
Of course, a couple were so big that they more resembled Sasquatch. How
a 300 lb. man can be that quick on his feet is mind boggling.

My high school football team had a Big Guy. He wasn't fast (and I
think in the end knee problems ended his career) but he was functionally
unstoppable once he got going.