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There's also some speculative research that 4 years is about how long monogamous love of a wife can last barring other factors. It's been a while since I read a
by Jach 15y ago
There's also some speculative research that 4 years is about how long monogamous love of a wife can last barring other factors. It's been a while since I read about it, I think it was reasoned that presumably because in the old days when you fell in love you had a kid and by the time the kid turned 4 they didn't really need the full support of the father anymore to survive, so the father can start looking around and try to spread his genes further now the initial investment of the one is complete... I didn't find much evidence supporting this view at the time, and indeed the notion of "monogamous love" was itself poorly defined. But it's still fun to speculate on why 4 tends to show up so often in human activities.
- adrianN 15y agoMost (all?) evolutionary psychology reeks of unbased speculation sprinkled with sciency words.
- billybob 15y agoRubbish. "Barring other factors" is a qualification big enough to drive a tractor trailer through, filled with millions of counter-examples on both sides. Many fathers love their mate for life or at least decades. Many others abandon her before the child is born. Whatever explains this variance is not biology. What evidence point to 4 years as normative? What evidence suggests that a 4-year-old doesn't need a father? "OK, kid, I see you're walking and making sentences. Here's a knife and some flint. Good luck."
- AznHisoka 15y ago4 years may be speculative, but the principle is not. For those interested, Google "Coolidge effect"
- jmaygarden 15y agoNo, it's 7 years, and I have that on the high authority of an old Marilyn Monroe flick. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Year_Itch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Year_Itch