BlogIssues

You can post a lot of rubbish in the name of science, genetics, evolution and blame unattractive features on our ancestors. While it’s true that what makes us us, is a combination of many things such as genes, environment, education and surely also partly on our relatives millions of years ago.

But does the nature of our physiology and biology “force” us to think or behave in a certain pre-programmed way? Is human nature first and foremost a collection of adaptions that sometimes kicks in beyond our control and makes us live up to a certain stereotype? We’re not forced to like chocolate for instance but we just do cause it tastes good, we know too much is bad for us but yet we indulge while we also have to choice to eat fruits instead.

Psychology Today published a rather interesting article emphasizing on ten of the most common politically incorrect myths, ideas and stereotypes and how they are scientifically documented to be true. So human nature isn’t politically correct. right let’s see…

Blondes are hot, men prefer them over others and women want to look like Barbie.

Women’s desire to look like Barbie—young with small waist, large breasts, long blond hair, and blue eyes—is a direct, realistic, and sensible response to the desire of men to mate with women who look like her. There is evolutionary logic behind each of these features.

Let’s establish the “facts” behind this assumption: being young, slim with shiny hair indicates health, therefore older women with a few extra pounds and short hair are unhealthy and ugly.

The breasts:

Until very recently, it was a mystery to evolutionary psychology why men prefer women with large breasts, since the size of a woman’s breasts has no relationship to her ability to lactate. But Harvard anthropologist Frank Marlowe contends that larger, and hence heavier, breasts sag more conspicuously with age than do smaller breasts. Thus they make it easier for men to judge a woman’s age (and her reproductive value) by sight—suggesting why men find women with large breasts more attractive.

The hair:

It is no coincidence that blond hair evolved in Scandinavia and northern Europe, probably as an alternative means for women to advertise their youth, as their bodies were concealed under heavy clothing.

Blue eyes:

One explanation is that the human pupil dilates when an individual is exposed to something that she likes.

Blue-eyed people are considered attractive as potential mates because it is easiest to determine whether they are interested in us or not.

So in order to get a guy all you have to do is look like Barbie and apparently it doesn’t make a difference whether or not your hair or your boobs for that matter are real.

“Honey, it’s not my fault that I banged the neighbour. Don’t you know, humans are naturally polygamous!”

“Why do men cheat?” In thousands upon thousands of Internet forums women seem to be constantly seeking for a definite answer for this question. Same goes with men really… there seems to be a higher ratio of women publicly asking for that ancient mystery to be revealed. There is your answer:

The history of western civilization aside, humans are naturally polygamous. Polyandry (a marriage of one woman to many men) is very rare, but polygyny (the marriage of one man to many women) is widely practiced in human societies, even though Judeo-Christian traditions hold that monogamy is the only natural form of marriage. We know that humans have been polygynous throughout most of history because men are taller than women.

Among primate and nonprimate species, the degree of polygyny highly correlates with the degree to which males of a species are larger than females. The more polygynous the species, the greater the size disparity between the sexes.

Omg, it’s so simple… Because men are taller than women! Wow, it all makes sense doesn’t it? But hang on a minute, what about those 10 inch high heels?

“Is that a bomb in your pants, Muhammad, or are you just excited to board the plane?”

According to the Oxford University sociologist Diego Gambetta, editor of Making Sense of Suicide Missions, a comprehensive history of this troubling yet topical phenomenon, while suicide missions are not always religiously motivated, when religion is involved, it is always Muslim.Why is this? Why is Islam the only religion that motivates its followers to commit suicide missions?

I’m no expert on religions, cults or different ethnic groups but I seriously doubt that Islam is the only religion that motivates it’s followers to blow themselves up.

The surprising answer from the evolutionary psychological perspective is that Muslim suicide bombing may have nothing to do with Islam or the Koran (except for two lines in it). It may have nothing to do with the religion, politics, the culture, the race, the ethnicity, the language, or the region. As with everything else from this perspective, it may have a lot to do with sex, or, in this case, the absence of sex.

A while ago we happened to come across this piece written by Jamie Glazov discussing the issue and the motivation behind terrorist attacks. I do agree with some of the listed points and it attempts to give an explanation that goes deeper than just the hatred against the western world.

It is the combination of polygyny and the promise of a large harem of virgins in heaven that motivates many young Muslim men to commit suicide bombings. Consistent with this explanation, all studies of suicide bombers indicate that they are significantly younger than not only the Muslim population in general but other (nonsuicidal) members of their own extreme political organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. And nearly all suicide bombers are single.

Do you think what I’m thinking? How’s a dating site for lonely suicide bombers sound?

Men sexually harass women because they are not sexist or if you cannot handle being sexually harassed, you should quit!

An unfortunate consequence of the ever-growing number of women joining the labor force and working side by side with men is the increasing number of sexual harassment cases.

All women have to do then is to resign and the sexual harassments will decrease. That’s good to know.

Sexual harassment cases of the hostile-environment variety result from sex differences in what men and women perceive as “overly sexual” or “hostile” behavior. Many women legitimately complain that they have been subjected to abusive, intimidating, and degrading treatment by their male coworkers. Browne points out that long before women entered the labor force, men subjected each other to such abusive, intimidating, and degrading treatment.

In other words, men are not treating women differently from men—the definition of discrimination, under which sexual harassment legally falls—but the opposite: Men harass women precisely because they are not discriminating between men and women.

A final thought here: Do Alan S. Miller Ph.D. and  Satoshi Kanazawa Ph.D. know that Barbie cannot reproduce?

Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature