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The Mating Mind by Geoffrey Miller
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoSo much made up out of thin air. How would we know that monogamy was unknown in the Pleiocene? This piece says all modern human behavior happened in the Pleiocene because, he guesses it wasn't there before and it was after. This is why I went into computers, instead of squishy 'science'.
- zzalpha 11y agoThe entire piece also assumes a very naive view of evolution and sexual selection, in that the author views fitness as purely a matter of parental genetics. Of course, that's false on its face. The social environment surrounding offspring plays a powerful role in the likelihood of survival of offspring. And that opens the door to myriad new evolutionary pressures that could explain any number of human behaviours, including monogamy (which reduces intrasexual competition).
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoSocial environment: I like to imagine that we get feeble when old, because it means grandparents tend to stay by the fire and teach the young.