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Evolution: Basic Principles Evolution: Change over time; decent with modification Natural Selection: Primary mechanism producing evolution (change over time). There are other mechanisms such as: sexual selection, social selection, drift. Basic principles of NS: 1. Variability: stuff varies 2. Heritability: variation is passed on genetically 3. Competition: limited resources 4. Selection: some variations are advantageous in securing limited resources and tend to passed on more than others = change over time Sexual selection Some traits may actually be detrimental to survival but provide an advantage in mating. Sexual selection: intra-sexual competition • Typically male-male competition for mates, resources, and status. Intra-sexual coalitional competition • Chimpanzees are especially well-known for forming male coalitions to challenge other males for dominance. Evolutionary basis for male competition • Gamete size (cheap sperm vs. expensive eggs) • Parental investment (mating vs. parenting effort) • Parental certainty (paternal vs. maternal certainty) Social Selection • Some traits help animals get along better in their social groups which in turn increases their survival and reproduction. Ex: more socially skilled female baboons tend to have more surviving offspring. Female competition • Usually less one on one physical than male competition. Typically relational, social exclusionary, sexually targeted. Human mate attraction: Long term mates • Males: young, beautiful, sexually modest • Reproductive value; paternity certainty • Females: older, highstatus (or potential), robust • Good genetics, stable secure source of resources, Brain and social selection • Larger groups select for more neocortex. Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature 1. Men like blond bombshells (and women want to look like them) • Why? Beauty is a indicator of fertility. Blonde is an indicator of honest signally (modesty) • See my webpage for full discussion • Excerpted from Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters, by Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa, to be published by Perigree in September 2007. 2. Humans are naturally polygamous • Males want harem of young fertile females • Females want good genes and lots of resources • However both want some reproductive success more than none so both usually have to compromise (monogomy) • 3. Most women benefit from polygyny, while most men benefit from monogamy • Females: Better to have 10% of Bill Gates than 100% of Homer Simpson • Males: share the babes! • 4. Most suicide bombers are Muslim • Polygyny increases ‘loser’ males • Islam promises loser males reproductive success in afterlife • 5. Having sons reduces the likelihood of divorce • Resources/status inheritance more critical for son’s reproductive success (reproductive variance) • 6. Beautiful people have more daughters • Beauty is a more valuable trait for female reproductive success than for male, especially among lower economic status couples (Trivers-Willard Hypo). Goodlooking, non-rich couples tend to have more females. (I have four daughters, beauty + lower status) 7. What Bill Gates and Paul McCartney have in common with criminals Young male risk-taking behavior • 8. The midlife crisis is a myth— sort of • Male midlife crisis is real but cause by their wife’s age not their own. • 9. It's natural for politicians to risk everything for an affair (but only if they're male) • Power is a means to achieve reproductive success for males. It actually makes no sense (genetically) to not have affairs once you have achieved power! • 10. Men sexually harass women because they are not sexist • Wrong motivation – it’s not men treating women differently its men treating women as they do other men. That is using their power to achieve advantage for purposes of reproductive success.