Read Online Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters: From Dating, Shopping, and Praying to Going to War and Becoming a Billionaire–Two Evolutionary Psychologists Explain Why We Do What We Do by Alan S. Miller, Satoshi Kanazawa - Free Book Online
Authors: Alan S. Miller, Satoshi Kanazawa
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the unforgettable image of the âcrying Indian.â The Indian witnesses white people littering and polluting the environment, and quietly weeps for Mother Earth and the abuse that she must go through at the hands of white people. The message of the public service announcement was that we must all be as protective of the environment as the Native Americans were.
(After his death in 1999, it was revealed that Iron Eyes Cody, the man who played the âcrying Indianâ in the public ser vice announcements in 1971 and subsequently made a career in Hollywood, portraying numerous Native American characters in movies and TV shows, was not Native American at all. He was born Espera Oscar DeCorti, a son of two Italian immigrants.)
Archaeological evidence shows that Native Americans were no more or no less protective of the environment than were any other groups on earth. A large majority of plant and animal species that ever existed on the American continents had been driven extinct by Native Americans long before Columbus set foot in the West Indies. Environmental protection is a luxury that became possible to Western societies only in the last several decades. Before industrialization and the current age of material abundance, all human groups had to exploit the environment to the maximum just to survive. No one could afford to be environmentally conscious, and Native Americans were no exception.
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The point of these examples of exotic culture that never was is to highlight the fact that all human cultures, however exotic and seemingly different on the surface, are essentially the same. There are no human cultures that are radically and completely different from any other, just like there are no human bodies that are radically and completely different from any other. Every time there appears to be a new discovery of an exotic culture that is different from all others, it turns out to be a hoax.
On to the Puzzles and Questions
Now that we have discussed the fundamentals of evolutionary psychology in the last two chapters, you should feel free to delve into the questions that we pose, and answers we suggest for them, in the substantive chapters (chapters 3â8). There is, of course, much more to evolutionary psychology than we discussed in chapters 1 and 2, and if you are interested, we suggest that you explore the books and articles that we recommend in footnote [10] in chapter 1. But our discussion in the last two chapters should be sufficient to inform the questions and answers anywhere in the next six chapters. So feel free to jump in, jump around, and explore the questions that most interest you. Enjoy!
3
BarbieâManufactured by Mattel, Designed by Evolution
THE EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY OF SEX AND MATING
Because it focuses so much on reproductive success, most of the fascinating studies that come out each year in evolutionary psychology are about sex and mating. One of the earliest studies in the field, conducted in the mid-1980s, surveyed over ten thousand people from thirty-seven cultures throughout the world and asked them what they sought in their ideal mate. 1 To the surprise of everyone (except for evolutionary psychologists), the study found that, regardless of culture, language, religion, race, or geography, men everywhere want the same things in women, and women everywhere want the same things in men (but different from what men want in women).
You may believe that your personal preferences for an ideal mate are truly personal and individual, not shared by other people. The basic message of evolutionary psychology is that, contrary to what you may have thought, your preferences and desires for your ideal mate are strongly shaped by the forces of evolution. Ultimately, itâs not what you want that matters; itâs what your genes want in order to assist their goal of spreading themselves as much and as far as possible.
Another message of evolutionary psychology, particularly important
(After his death in 1999, it was revealed that Iron Eyes Cody, the man who played the âcrying Indianâ in the public ser vice announcements in 1971 and subsequently made a career in Hollywood, portraying numerous Native American characters in movies and TV shows, was not Native American at all. He was born Espera Oscar DeCorti, a son of two Italian immigrants.)
Archaeological evidence shows that Native Americans were no more or no less protective of the environment than were any other groups on earth. A large majority of plant and animal species that ever existed on the American continents had been driven extinct by Native Americans long before Columbus set foot in the West Indies. Environmental protection is a luxury that became possible to Western societies only in the last several decades. Before industrialization and the current age of material abundance, all human groups had to exploit the environment to the maximum just to survive. No one could afford to be environmentally conscious, and Native Americans were no exception.
Â
The point of these examples of exotic culture that never was is to highlight the fact that all human cultures, however exotic and seemingly different on the surface, are essentially the same. There are no human cultures that are radically and completely different from any other, just like there are no human bodies that are radically and completely different from any other. Every time there appears to be a new discovery of an exotic culture that is different from all others, it turns out to be a hoax.
On to the Puzzles and Questions
Now that we have discussed the fundamentals of evolutionary psychology in the last two chapters, you should feel free to delve into the questions that we pose, and answers we suggest for them, in the substantive chapters (chapters 3â8). There is, of course, much more to evolutionary psychology than we discussed in chapters 1 and 2, and if you are interested, we suggest that you explore the books and articles that we recommend in footnote [10] in chapter 1. But our discussion in the last two chapters should be sufficient to inform the questions and answers anywhere in the next six chapters. So feel free to jump in, jump around, and explore the questions that most interest you. Enjoy!
3
BarbieâManufactured by Mattel, Designed by Evolution
THE EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY OF SEX AND MATING
Because it focuses so much on reproductive success, most of the fascinating studies that come out each year in evolutionary psychology are about sex and mating. One of the earliest studies in the field, conducted in the mid-1980s, surveyed over ten thousand people from thirty-seven cultures throughout the world and asked them what they sought in their ideal mate. 1 To the surprise of everyone (except for evolutionary psychologists), the study found that, regardless of culture, language, religion, race, or geography, men everywhere want the same things in women, and women everywhere want the same things in men (but different from what men want in women).
You may believe that your personal preferences for an ideal mate are truly personal and individual, not shared by other people. The basic message of evolutionary psychology is that, contrary to what you may have thought, your preferences and desires for your ideal mate are strongly shaped by the forces of evolution. Ultimately, itâs not what you want that matters; itâs what your genes want in order to assist their goal of spreading themselves as much and as far as possible.
Another message of evolutionary psychology, particularly important
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