# Riiiiiight........What's a cubit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731 "2009-10-22T13:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/1 "2009-10-22T13:32:03Z")
You are commissioned to fill a space “ark” with 100 people for a trip to a newly discovered earth-type planet. Everyone will be flash frozen for the trip, so for them(and you) it will seem as if no time has passed. Ratio of men to women? Ages? Professions? Religions? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/2 "2009-10-22T13:42:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You are commissioned to fill a space “ark” with 100 people for a trip to a newly discovered earth-type planet. Everyone will be flash frozen for the trip, so for them(and you) it will seem as if no time has passed. > Ratio of men to women? > Ages? > Professions? > Religions? Loved that album! Definitely more women than men - probably 5-7:1. A range of childbearing years - women probably 18-28ish, men perhaps 25-35. Emphasis on people who can DO things - farmers, skilled construction types, engineers, and doctors. As free from religion as possible. Emphasis would be on health and diversity of genetic/racial make-up. Let’s breed them all healthy and brown! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/3 "2009-10-22T13:56:11Z")
You can increase genetic diversity by including pregnant women, inseminated by men who are not on board. And you will need an obstetrician. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/4 "2009-10-22T15:52:27Z")
Hairdressers, marketing execs, and telephone sanitizers. That’ll guarantee a future earth-like planet. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/5 "2009-10-22T15:57:34Z")
I’ll guess you’ll also have to make it a condition that none of the passengers can expect monogamy, or at least designate a certain group that will be the “breeders”. If two of them happen to fall in love and declare monogamy, you’re seriously limiting your ability to populate the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/6 "2009-10-22T22:27:58Z")
Family histories of twins & triplets are a must. Speeds things up. Engineers–math & mechanical aptitude. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/7 "2009-10-22T22:59:26Z")
‘Doctor, you mentioned the ratio of ten women to each man. Now, wouldn’t that necessitate the abandonment of the so-called monogamous sexual relationship, I mean, as far as men were concerned?’ ‘Regrettably, yes. But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious… service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.’ ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/8 "2009-10-22T23:30:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You can increase genetic diversity by including pregnant women, inseminated by men who are not on board. Whoa…that’s harsh. “You can have sex with me to give me a child that will go to the stars. But no, you can’t go. Your sperm is good enough, but _you_ aren’t.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/9 "2009-10-22T23:57:42Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You can increase genetic diversity by including pregnant women, inseminated by men who are not on board. > > And you will need an obstetrician. Actually, I’d recommend taking along several buckets of ova and sperm from people not on board. And a turkey baster. I think you’d need several chemists and farmers. Can we take any livestock, or just humans? ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/10 "2009-10-23T00:12:43Z")
A Cubit- isn’t that the unit of currency used in TOS Battlestar Galactica? 😉 it’s related to the Altarian Dollar, the Flanian Pobble Bead, the Ningi and the Triganic Pu, not sure of the exchange rate though… [QUOTE=Czarcasm] You are commissioned to fill a space “ark” with 100 people for a trip to a newly discovered earth-type planet. Everyone will be flash frozen for the trip, so for them(and you) it will seem as if no time has passed. Ratio of men to women? Ages? Professions? Religions? [/quote] Ratio of Men to Women; 3-to-1, like it is with livebearing aquarium fish, fewer male organisms are needed to fertilize the female organisms Ages; skewed towards the younger end of the scale, but enough “older” people to pass on traditional hunter/gathering skills Professions; with apologies to the late Douglas Adams, no “middlemen” (account executives, Salespeople, Telephone Sanitizers, Marketers, Managers, and hairdressers), hunting/gathering skills would be of primary importance, so mainly farmers, hunters, military (for self defense), doctors, and other scientists, self-sufficency skills would be of primary importance, as I stated before, no middlemen, managers or other useless skill bearers, skills that had no bearing on survival Religions? _ **NONE, NADA, ZIP, NO, NYET, ABSOLUTELY NO RELIGION PERMITTED** _ ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/11 "2009-10-23T00:24:25Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Whoa…that’s harsh. “You can have sex with me to give me a child that will go to the stars. But no, you can’t go. Your sperm is good enough, but _you_ aren’t.” Eh… I’d do her. (Especially given **Johnny L.A.**'s comment right before yours.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/12 "2009-10-23T00:32:37Z")
A high female-to-male ratio looks great for the first few generations, but in the long run you’d get better biodiversity from an even split. Consider the extreme case of one man (with a lot of stamina) and 99 women: Sure, you’ll have 99% of your population cranking out babies, but all of those kids are going to be half-siblings to each other. With whom do they mate? Of course, in practice, you’re probably going to get most of your biodiversity from frozen sperm and eggs harvested from thousands or millions of people, not just from your 100 original colonists. As for religion, you simply won’t be able to establish a new colony without religion. Even if you don’t bring any along, your colonists or their descendants will invent new ones sooner or later, and probably sooner-- Humans, for better or worse, seem to be hard-wired to be religious. I’d feel a lot more comfortable with the devil I know than the devil I don’t (or god, as the case may be). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/13 "2009-10-23T01:34:59Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Whoa…that’s harsh. “You can have sex with me to give me a child that will go to the stars. But no, you can’t go. Your sperm is good enough, but _you_ aren’t.” What? Nobody said we should _tell_ the guys who aren’t going. Sheesh! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/14 "2009-10-23T02:25:47Z")
No Buckets O’ Sperm, no pregnant ladies-gene pool from passengers only. And no lawyers! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/15 "2009-10-23T03:39:22Z")
Pretty much going to be impossible to eliminate religion. Consider that part of the digital payload is going to be copies of every publication that made it onto digital format. That will include every religious text ever published and every book that makes any sort of reference to religion. And there are a significant percentage of non-religious books that have a g-d or references to angels, devils, and demons. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/16 "2009-10-23T04:49:36Z")
**Sex** 50 women / 50 men (ish) **Age** 50% 21-35 30% 36-50 20% 51-65 **Professions** Engineers, machinists, mechanics, physicists, mathematicians, chemists, horticulturists, farmers, ranchers, ex-military, doctors, surgeons, vets, architects, carpenters, psychologists, artists/journalists, jack-of-all-trades. Everyone would need a crash course in just about everything but their own profession that has to do with colonial survival. At the very least, two of each (How very Noah’s Ark, huh?). For the more important professions, like doctors and engineers, you’d want at least 4 - 5 very experienced individuals. **Religion** Like **Chronos** said, religion seems to be hardwired for a lot of humans. While there’s a strong case for it, it might not actually be fact. It would be an interesting experiment, in and of itself, to vet out the religious and just send up only atheists or agnostics. It would do away with a lot of the complex theistic views and practices of various beliefs, considering the high risk of such an endeavor: there _ **are** _ going to be casualties. Also, religious observances and prejudices have been known to create conflict. Why bring that ugly baggage with you? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/17 "2009-10-23T06:57:29Z")
Would a 7:1 female/male ratio be a good idea from a genetic standpoint? It means that 1/8 of your crew will supply half of the next generation’s genes. Everyone on your planet will be descended from only thirteen men. Another question: what supplies will you ship carry in terms of educational material? If all you’re carrying is passengers then you’re going to need a crew with more experience and skills in their heads. If you’re allowing books to go along then you can skew your crew selection to a younger crowd with presumedly better health and more child bearing years. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/18 "2009-10-23T13:33:40Z")
This thread show _exactly_ why no lawyers will be allowed on this trip. There will be no buckets of sperm. No electronic libraries filled with all the knowledge in the world. No already pregnant ladies. Just 100 people(and you, the Director) and the clothes on their backs, in stasis until landing on an earth-type planet, near the beginning of that planet’s equivalent of summer. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/19 "2009-10-23T13:54:54Z")
So, we’re not bringing our own plant or animal life? Is there native species on this new world then for us to exploit? Without any other resources, you’re almost guaranteed a catastrophic failure. If we can’t bring our own equipment, you’d need people like geologists, metallurgists, blacksmiths, etc… ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731/20 "2009-10-23T14:07:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘Doctor, you mentioned the ratio of ten women to each man. Now, wouldn’t that necessitate the abandonment of the so-called monogamous sexual relationship, I mean, as far as men were concerned?’ > > ‘Regrettably, yes. But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious… service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.’ Where can I sign up! IANAG but I don’t think the lack of genetic diversity would be too much of a problem at this ratio as long as it was monitored properly. Unless I’m thinking this out incorrectly we could have 4 generations before people would have to sleep with relatives and having the same great, great grandfather isn’t too bad. I reckon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riiiiiight-whats-a-cubit/514731.md?page=2)