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New Good article
[link|http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20070622-000002.xml|http://www.psycholog...070622-000002.xml]

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Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature
New Interesting conjecture
The ideas mentioned are all interesting conjecture, but hard evidence is rather short. A history shows that attempts to map human behavior to human genetics tends to reflect the biases of the mappers more then anything. That said, here is my breakdown of what I think of the ideas:

1: There may be a bit of truth in it, but but cultural factors out weight any genetic basis in human society. Just consider how many non-European societies are not tied to the ideal they push.

2: Very likely correct, as long as you keep the "slightly" in there.

3: Possibly true, but the argument is weakened when you realize just how common out of marriage affairs are in some species.

4: Pure conjecture. And sharply weakened when you consider how many Christians seek to become a martyr. In fact, I suspect that the percentage that wants to become a martyr is fairly close. The difference is that Muslim fanatics see themselves in a war to be won through military power, while Christians see themselves in a cultural conflict to be won through conversion.

5: Possibly true.

6: Very likely correct.

7: The pattern is true, but the connection to birth patterns is conjecture. And of course Bill Gates was never a great programmer, though the authors where likely more correct then they thought when they tied him to criminal behavior.

8: Probably true to some degree, but not likely the only reason.

9: Once again, probably true to some degree but not the only reason.

10: Some of the underlying material they mention is clearly true to some degree or another, but the generalization they are making is wrongheaded. Women often do see specific mistreatment when the guy in question is just a general bastard. And there certainly is a connection between sex/power games and human prehistoric mating behavior. But much of it is cultural behavior that can not be cleanly tied to genetic basis. And because the two are so intertwined it is very dangerous to say that something is caused by one or the other.

More importantly, the generalization they draw is far too broad. While what they talk about is almost assuredly true for some cases, it is also almost assuredly incorrect in others. And I think the evidence leans towards a conclusion based more on society then genetics.

And these matters are important, for the simple reasons that society is something we can change, genetics is something we can not.

Jay
New I'd like to see the evidence for their claims.
E.g. Blondes aren't terribly common in the Far East or Africa. These "universal" characteristics based on millions of years of evolution seem to be, in reality, highly western-slanted. It'll be good to see the evidence for these conclusions.

Cheers,
Scott.
New Yeah, and it's pretty hard to identify . . .
. . those narrow waists through a burka.

Or as one Mid Easterner recently put it, "We tend to go for the boys because at least we can tell which are the pretty ones".
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
New There's truth in these theories, and a lot of holes too.
New data that has to be worked with is the result of DNA testing for birth defects during pregnancy. On average in 10% of any lot of tests and as high as 15% it's found the husband or other designated father (the one expected to pay the bills for 20 years) is not the genetic father. Right now the genetic testers are only revealing this information to the mothers.

Other evidence has been coming from study of beetles. In one species the females always select as mates the largest males with well developed horns and a fierce disposition. So geneticists wondered, "with such selectivity why does the species still still contain many smaller males with less developed horns - you'd think they would have been bred out?".

Further study has shown that while the big guy is upstairs fiercely defending his digs, the little guys are digging side tunnels into his burrow and screwing with his wife.

So as I have assured Lily many times, women are still choosing men by pre-cave era instincts, often with unsatisfactory results, but there are many mitigating factors going on which is why men haven't been bred to be a lot worse than they actually are.

All this and much more makes life difficult for the cut-and-dried theories of the social geneticists.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
Expand Edited by Andrew Grygus July 8, 2007, 08:13:22 PM EDT
     Good article - (crazy) - (4)
         Interesting conjecture - (JayMehaffey)
         I'd like to see the evidence for their claims. - (Another Scott) - (2)
             Yeah, and it's pretty hard to identify . . . - (Andrew Grygus)
             There's truth in these theories, and a lot of holes too. - (Andrew Grygus)

I'm gonna grab you by your Supercut and shake you like a fresh glowstick!
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