Thursday, November 11, 2010

Deep Rationality II: Conspicuous Consumption as Mating Display | Psychology Today

Deep Rationality II: Conspicuous Consumption as Mating Display | Psychology Today:
"By flashing its brilliant tail, a peacock increases his chances of becoming some predator’s dinner; it’s like he’s turning on a neon sign that says “eat here.” If nature selects those animals that are better at surviving, then how can such a display (what biologists now call a “costly signal”) evolve? The answer is that natural selection is not ultimately about survival, it is about reproduction. Every choice in nature involves a trade-off, and any peacock who wasn’t willing to risk a shorter life would not attract females, hence his careful genes would not get passed on"
Something seemingly irrational (Conspicuous consumption) explained.  What makes it even better is that this conspicous consumption in men is then tied to apparent willingness for a short-term fling. 
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