Part of this feels like sexual selection exerting its pressure. It’s why the paradise birds dance. Being physically fit used to be the main factor and while i

Part of this feels like sexual selection exerting its pressure. It’s why the paradise birds dance. Being physically fit used to be the main factor and while it still helps today, it’s only one smaller component of status. I don’t see the physical fitness and intellectual posturing as two distinct areas that have separately matured. It’s one sexual selection continuum - only the environment and what’s adaptive for attracting mates has changed. There’s a new dance to learn. I don’t think this is something we can easily overcome.