

The Mating Mind by Geoffrey Miller - taigeair
http://www.drmillslmu.com/sexdiffs/spr03/Vaidman-summary-050103.htm

======
JoeAltmaier
So much made up out of thin air. How would we know that monogamy was unknown
in the Pleiocene? This piece says all modern human behavior happened in the
Pleiocene because, he guesses it wasn't there before and it was after. This is
why I went into computers, instead of squishy 'science'.

~~~
zzalpha
The entire piece also assumes a very naive view of evolution and sexual
selection, in that the author views fitness as purely a matter of parental
genetics.

Of course, that's false on its face. The social environment surrounding
offspring plays a powerful role in the likelihood of survival of offspring.

And that opens the door to myriad new evolutionary pressures that could
explain any number of human behaviours, including monogamy (which reduces
intrasexual competition).

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Social environment: I like to imagine that we get feeble when old, because it
means grandparents tend to stay by the fire and teach the young.

