Non-Fiction Notes
Non-Fiction Notes
Month: January 2026
-
I think the final chapter is a thoughtful and fitting conclusion to the book. It reiterates several essential facts and observations developed earlier and, beyond that, expresses a sense of wonder at the uniquely human capacity to form long-term bonds: “Men and women have always depended on each other for transporting their genes to future…
-
This chapter explores sex-specific trajectories in mate value and their behavioral consequences. Changes over Time An alpha male can lose dominance over time: “Although there were four adult males in the troop, Yeroen was responsible for nearly 75 percent of all matings when the females came into estrus. As Yeroen grew older, however, things began…
-
Breaking Up “Divorce and remarriage are so common in the United States that nearly 50 percent of all children do not live with both of their genetic parents. Stepfamilies are rapidly becoming the norm, not the exception.” Why do individuals choose to leave long-term committed relationships? “People end committed relationships for many reasons. A spouse…
-
Sexual Conflict “NOVELS, SONGS, SOAP operas, and tabloids tell us about battles between men and women and the pain they inflict on each other. Wives bemoan their husbands’ neglect; husbands are bewildered by their wives’ moodiness. “Men are emotionally constricted,” say women. “Women are emotional powder kegs,” say men. Men want sex too soon, too…
-
Staying Together Beyond mate acquisition, the task of mate retention becomes crucial. Buss argues that many important benefits arise from maintaining a long-term partner: “TREMENDOUS BENEFITS FLOW to couples who remain committed. From this unique alliance come efficiencies that include complementary skills, a division of labor, and a sharing of resources, as well as mutual…
-
I have read the first five chapters of The Evolution of Desire, which roughly cover the first half of the book. What is in it for the reader? Human mating is a realm filled with clichés, and the world is saturated with loud and often false information on this topic. For that reason, it is…
-
Attracting a Partner “KNOWING WHAT WE desire in a mate provides no guarantee that we will succeed in getting what we want. Success hinges on providing signals that we will deliver what the partner we desire is seeking. Because ancestral women valued high status in men, for example, men have evolved motivation for acquiring and…
-
Casual Sex Some individuals are more open to affairs or short-term liaisons than others: “Although women and men alike have the whole repertoire of mating strategies—long-term mating, short-term mating, mate poaching, infidelity, and so on—there do exist somewhat stable individual differences, sometimes called sociosexual orientation. Some people are strongly inclined to long-term, high-investment mating. They…
-
What Men Want The Puzzle of Why Men Commit: “WHY MEN WOULD ever commit to just one woman poses a puzzle. Since all an ancestral man needed to do to reproduce was to impregnate a woman, casual sex without commitment would have achieved this goal. For evolution to produce men who desire commitment or marriage…
-
What Women Want – Desired Traits Size and Strength “When the great basketball player Magic Johnson revealed that he had slept with thousands of women, he inadvertently revealed women’s preference for mates who display physical and athletic prowess. The numbers may be shocking, but the preference is not. Physical characteristics, such as athleticism, size, and…
Non-Fiction Notes 