TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Warming's impacts sped up, worsened since Kyoto WASHINGTON (AP) -- Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated - beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.... hosted.ap.org |
Keeping a mate The Guardian's Evolutionary Agony Aunt Carole Jahme shines the cold light of evolutionary psychology on readers' problemsI'm trapped by moralityFrom Michael, 40s, by emailI am a successful businessman in my early 40s. I am in good health and I am physically attractive. My wife, though, whom I selected for her good genes, has only produced one son for me and has now become infertile. There are a number of younger, healthier women available for me to choose from who could probably bear me more children and ensure the continuation of my genetic lineage.However I am tied up with notions of "love", "duty", "responsibility", "morality" and "guilt", but I am aware that these are just irrelevant Christian social hangovers. What should I do?Carole replies: You seem very confident of the number of healthy women available to you for fertilisation; it sounds like you have acquired a harem! Does your wife know? Younger women may be attracted to financial security but that's not all that attracts them. You are in your early 40s; your semen volume and your sperm motility (movement) will be falling as middle age spreads around the girth.You have one son and I'm guessing he is of school age and thus he requires parenting. You are mistaken in viewing your status quo as a dilemma of moralities versus descendents. One child that is heavily invested in can do far better in evolutionary terms than five neglected children. Your best strategy is to support your wife enabling her to give her best to your son.The sentiments of love and guilt are not Christian hangovers, they are evolved, higher cognitive emotions. These sentiments are adapted to best guide us through life. There is variation within species. These sentiments are not evenly distributed among all humans and neither are they fail-safe, but if you feel love when you think of your infertile wife and your only son then get happy quick! Why not spend some of your wealth on a family holiday?Kidd, S, et al (2001). Effects of male age on semen quality and fertility: a review of the literature. Fertility and Sterility, Volume 75, Issue 2, Pages 237-248.Van Vugt, M & Hart, CM (2004). Social identity as social glue: The origins of group loyalty (2004). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 585-598.De Waal, FBM & Bonnie, KE (2004). Primate Social Reciprocity and the Origin of Gratitude, p213, in The Psychology of Gratitude, Oxford University Press.A mid-life crisisFrom anonymous male, 50, by emailThis is a classic mid-life crisis thing: guy reaches 50, falls radically out of love with wife and into insanely devastating love with Younger Woman, who turns him down because she's (sort of) happily married with three children, or four, depending how you count these things.He's a nice guy at heart and reckons he should leave his wife out of honesty, to give her a chance to rebuild her life with someone who might really love her. But out of pure cowardice he lets himself be talked into staying, which is materially an easyish option. He's inevitably going to fall in love with another Younger Woman, so this time round is he capable of self-sacrifice and staying? Would this be a good idea? If he leaves, is guilt going to kill him? What do I do? Carole replies:You say you fell "insanely" for a younger, married mum with four children 窶 this woman doesn't sound available to me. You say you were talked into staying. Was it your wife who talked you into staying, because she knows you better that you know yourself? Or did the other women do the talking because she didn't want you full-time? Do you want the excitement of love, the serotonin high and endorphin rush without making the life-change you speak of? You ask if guilt would kill you 窶 would your wife's survival be threatened without you? You mention self-sacrifice 窶 is your wife hard to live with? Or are you comfortable and bored? Your wife might manage very well without you.Jane Goodall, among others, has observed the complex emotions of chimps and has noted that in times of stress, or when in need of quiet contemplation, individual chimpanzees take themselves away from the group to a beautiful spot, to rest and watch waterfalls, for example. These trips to areas of natural beauty are not for feeding, breeding or socialising purposes; rather they are occasions when chimps feel the need to take a break from the pressures of primate life.Humans have an innate appreciation of natural beauty. If you can take a break I recommend you leave behind both work and domestic pressures and go travelling. Make use of your evolved, higher primate ability to self-reflect, and test your instincts in an environment unknown to you. You need to be up against the elements and relying on your intuition to discover what it really is that you want from the rest of your life.Through a Window: My Thirty Years With the Chimpanzees of Gombe. Jane Goodall. Mariner Books (paperback) April 2010.My fear of snakesFrom Johnny Viper, ageless, by emailI have a bit of a problem with snakes. The weird thing is, I was born in New Zealand and have lived here all my life. But there are no snakes here so my phobia is a bit of a mystery. When running the other day, I jumped five feet in the air when I saw an old belt on the floor and mistook it for a snake. All kinds of tubular entities terrify me (though only temporarily, when I remember there are no snakes here). I consulted my priest about it, but he just mumbled a load of rubbish about the Lord working in mysterious ways before scuttling off to make a cup of tea. Can evolutionary theory offer any well-grounded, empirically testable hypothesis for my phobia?Carole replies:Your personal observation of being terrified by snakes or objects of a similar shape (congratulations on jumping five feet in the air, you are obviously a healthy male) is a phenomenon shared by millions of other Homo sapiens and all other primate species. The instinctive fear of spiders and other potentially venomous creepy-crawlies is an adaptation handed down to us from our ancestors whose fear reflex prevented them from succumbing to a poisonous bite just long enough to breed. The interesting thing here is that young infants, (who are at the life stage less impacted on by subsequent selection since the human lineage split away from old world monkeys some 20m years ago 窶 meaning infants exhibit ancient simians reflexes) do not show a fear of snakes or spiders. This atavistic fear of potentially venomous critters is acquired in humans once the infant begins to walk. Prior to walking the suckling baby primate is carried by its mother and it is her reflex that protects them both.Rakison, D (2009). Does women's greater fear of snakes and spiders originate in infancy? Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 30, Issue 6, p438-444.You can email your questions to Carole by clicking here (they don't have to be about relationships). Please put "Ask Carole" in the subject line.Terms and conditionsPlease say whether you wish to be named in connection with your enquiry and if so by what name. We reserve the right to edit questions. If you mail us a question, you agree that your email may be published on the site.We regret that Carole cannot answer all the mails we receive. We cannot provide urgent advice and suggest that if you need such advice you seek it immediately without waiting for a response from Carole. With regards to legal, medical or financial issues, we recommend seeking the advice of a listed professional. We will not be held liable for any loss, damage or injury you incur as a result of using this site or as a result of any advice given. We will not enter into personal correspondence via email.Carole is UK-based and as such any advice she gives is intended for a UK audience only.EvolutionReproductionGeneticsBiologyRelationshipsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Anti-whaling 'weapon' still tied up The Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group says it can not make a third attempt to leave Hobart for the Southern Ocean until it gets clearance from New Zealand authorities. abc.net.au |
New smog rule could be a surprise to some counties LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Parts of the country that haven't worried about air pollution may soon be in the fight California has faced for decades: cleaning up smog.... hosted.ap.org |
Rival drug advice panel launched An independent group designed to give "politically neutral" information about the risks of drugs is being launched. news.bbc.co.uk |