10 Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature
 

...according to Psychology Today.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/artic...622-000002.xml

What are your thoughts about this? The truth or a bunch of bullsh*t? What things you believe about human nature that may be viewed as politically incorrect? I think it would be a good idea to exclude anything racial, we don't want this thread to turn into the 2002nd racial discussion we have here on GC.

Eh, I'd like to see sources for a lot of what he's saying. There's some debate over whether prehistoric humans were monogamous or not.

I'd argue that while some women might benefit from idealized polygyny, (by sharing a wealthy man) in reality it's not the same.

For the things like having a son (because he's worth more) means the marriage stays together. Where is that exactly? The US? Worldwide? India? Same with the beautiful people having a daughter, I was only skimming at this point, but there's no way for a woman's beauty to affect the sex of a baby, only men affect the sex of the baby.

And finally, DUH physical attractiveness=reproductive success. That's why we find them attractive. That's why fatter people were attractive when fat=wealthy or fat=good childbearing. The most attractive are assumed to be the most healthy who will pass the best genes on to your children.

There are some truths in there, but I think that mostly it's just someone who wants to say nonPC things for the sake of it.

mostly bull if you ask me. especially the suicide bomber one. its just a bit racist/presumptuous.

i do like the one about beautiful people having daughters...i am expecting my second girl, i am the oldest of 3 girls, and my fiance has 3 sisters. total bull too, but i like it!:) (is that shallow lol?)

the one about women wanting to be bombshells may not have proof, but i do know that you just cant find non-bombshell looking dolls/role models anymore. i love America Fererra, she is a beautiful healthy girl, but shes still a bombshell! there are no average looking Barbies. i raise my daughter to look at everyone the same and i try to keep her away from the primped and coiffed toys/shows/role models. its very hard. it is what we are exposed to from the very start...

Interesting.

The suicide bombing one was gutsy, props to them.

you know, i almost understand the suicide bomber one...i dont think its nice to say, but...

it doesnt say a particular race, just a religious group. maybe i need to do more research, but statistically you hear more about those type of bombings than any other. i dont believe too many other religions offer the same "reward" in the afterlife for martyrs...

please, anyone, correct me if im wrong...

Statistically I'm pretty sure he's right, as for his reasons, I'm not sure I agree. I think it has a lot more to do with the influence of religion and the fundamentalist clerics who propogate that. There have been Christians* who've done the same things, but what one fundamentalist church here teaches, it's so much more prevalent there. Combine that with socioeconomic oppression and you've got people who will die, not because they aren't going to have wives (polygyny isn't that common) but because their family gets $$ and their family already has an heir.

I highly doubt many suicide bombers blow themselves up just because they can't get any in this life.

*Christianity does say martyrs go to heaven, it's all in the interpretation of that. Just because it doesn't involve virgins or white raisins or whatever doesn't mean that people won't die for their faith, even if it's a twisted version of the faith.

OK, the one I've got issue with is the Orson Welles example...

Orson Welles got screwed over big time by the studios (which were run by MEN). His risk taking behavior definitely did not cease after Citizen Kane's release...google "It's All True" if you want confirmation. If his creativity seemed to dim, it wasn't because he wanted to do so...it was because he had to eat.

I know this is a weird one to pick out, but it just shows me that this guy didn't do his research.

You're unnecessarily conflating terms here - his assertion wasn't that Welles got rich from Citizen Kane, it's that it was the height of his creative processes and the best example of risk-taking behavior. The fact he got dicked over actually doesn't hurt this assertion. Remember, he doesn't say risk-taking ends - but rather that it is most prevalent in your 20's and fades a bit after.

First off, there's a causation/correlation problem here, but w/e.

However, this is kind of his point - he's stating that staying solvent is an old man's game. Chasing pipe dreams is a young man's game, for the most part.

I'm not sure his research is that bad, given my understanding of his assertions, but I'm no expert on Welles on the whole.

I agree that it wasn't a good example. That assertation makes sense we're probably wired that way especially if you weren't likely to live past 35.

ok some of this is hooey

1. Men like blond bombshells (and women want to look like them)

I disagree with the first part...if I ever see another dark skinned woman and the difference beytween here and midnight is 11:59 and she has a platinum colored weave in her head.....siiiiiiigh....

the second part...some of u need to stop letting western culture influence u

2. Humans are naturally polygamous

we get it from animals...hehehe

3. Most women benefit from polygyny, while most men benefit from monogamy
but who would enjoy it more?

4. Most suicide bombers are Muslim


I find especially funny...

'The surprising answer is that Muslim suicide bombing has nothing to do with Islam or the Quran (except for two lines). It has a lot to do with sex, or, in this case, the absence of sex. What distinguishes Islam from other major religions is that it tolerates polygyny'

I heard of blowing your load but dayum.....and did anyone catch the grammtical error in the passage also

5. Having sons reduces the likelihood of divorce

maybe in China



7. What Bill Gates and Paul McCartney have in common with criminals

ok...now we are reaching


8. The midlife crisis is a myth—sort of

errrmm...just shake ur head and move along people

My point is that CK wasn't necessarily the height of his creative processes or risk-taking - several of his films were taken from his control by the studio and extensively cut. The original negatives - not prints - so we can't definitively say CK is the greatest, "riskiest" movie he ever made as his other films weren't seen the way he made them. IAT touched on a lot of racial taboos which is why much of the footage was destroyed.

I know I'm geeking out on this one, but Orson is my man :)

And as far as the Paul McCartney reference - I don't think you can compare work done with a group to work done solo. Not only that, "hit song" doesn't always equal "good song."

I kinda found the whole thing kinda "skimmed" over the reasons behind the claims.

that is true...but look at how much of the western culture has influenced all the others...the Kenya barbie looks just like the Hispanic one, the Asian one, the White one. same shape, different skin tone. i remember when i was little my aunt went and bought me a black barbie doll because the one i had was white. hell, we were so broke she could have been purple. i didnt care!

i strive to teach my daughter that there is nothing wrong with being pretty. or smart. i also strive to teach her that beauty is in so many shapes and sizes, that the term "bombshell" shouldnt even have the word blonde in front of it! i get tired of her being told she is pretty all the time, although she is a beautiful child (im a bit biased, but still...) and the focus should be on her intelligence, which thank the lord she has as well...

so so true.
for example

she bangs-ricky martin.
ay bay bay-dont care whose song this is.
that song by paris hilton.
mambo #5-lou bega

shall i continue?

As I've gotten older, I've shifted from blondes to girls with much darker features. I've seen the same thing with my friends. Blondes are fun, but...trashy. I've also started dating girls with curves...so you know girls that are a size 2 instead of a size 0. OK OK I'm messing around now, but most guys I know want to marry brunettes.

-Rudey

I disagree, though I have nothing against brunettes

Thats good because i'm willing to bet that at least 1/3 of the blondes you know are actually brunettes.

Not exactly bull... but more like opinion, opinion without sources or supportive material, and opinion revealing of the authors' particular beliefs about gender and social evolution - and ultimately all designed to push their new book.

As long as the roots aren't jet black, its all good.

Whoie, amazing how Poistschanges!:cool:

God is Good!:D

Are my friends and I the only ones who believes women with darker features look better? I have seen very few blondes that I thought looked attractive... No offense to the blondes out there.

No matter what this article writer says, statistically you're in the majority.

In fact interracial faces are typically the most attractive!

Cite? This is interesting

That article really rubbed me the wrong way because not only did they fail to cite sources, it seemed like the twisted everything to further their personal agendas.

IN MY OPINION:

First off, we live in a patriarchal society propogated by society- not by basic human instincts. Think about it, if you turn on TV you will be hard pressed to find a show that does not contain a family where only the father works and the mother stays at home with the children. This particular father figure will carry on about sex and how is wife doesn't give him any, he will also favor is sons and lecture his daughters. If his son isn't stereotypically athletic or "manly" enough, the father will badger him. If his daughter is strong-willed and smart, the father will tease her. Seriously, a lot of shows have this basic concept. This just further enforces stereotypes about family lifestyle. You also don't even have to change the channel to see the marketing tools utilized by companies that also furthers the basic patriarchal concept. For example: A commercial dealing with cleaning products will almost exclusively feature females, while a product that requires some intelligence will feature males. If a commercial features the opposite of what I previously stated, it is generally for purposes of ridicule: i.e. a car insurance commerical where an inept female makes wrong choices until a male leads her to the company producing the commericial.


Now I say this is all based on society, NOT instinct, because there is proof that before western culture took over the world, matriarchal societies existed. There were numerous self-sustaining and successful Native American tribes where women where in charge. How do you explain that if, according to the authors, we are naturally dictated by the desire to allow men to rule/men to have multiple wives etc? In these Native American societies, it was WOMEN with multiple HUSBANDS, WOMEN who ran the show, and the WOMEN's tribal name was passed on. Truly, this is a more accurate way to create family lines because you will always know who your momma is, but you can never be fully sure who your dad is!!

Forms of media have always existed to further societal norms and gossip has been around since people could speak. Where do you think our ideas of beauty, that change every 20 years or so, come from? How are these evolutions explained by this study? According to the authors, these societal views of beauty should never change- since we all run on instinct given to us by our ancient counterparts. As Drolefile pointed out, heavier women were once considered gorgeous and genes adapted to create thicker women in (gee, thanks..ugh!). This isn't because of instinct, it was a reflection of the society that bore these concepts! Heavier women were more reveared in eras where poverty was prevalent in socio-econmoic status. This leads to my other point, blonde women were reveared because of their rarity, not because their hair indicated youth. Seriously, how many natural blondes do you know? Probably not a lot! Think of how uncommon it was when the geneotype first appeared! I am also pretty sure that I read in some book at school that some cultures would kill blondes because they suspected these people to be witches/devils due to their rarity. Stick a blonde in Africa, and the men will stare because of her uniqueness, not because they are programmed to find her attractive since her hair will tell her age :rolleyes:


Organized religion, both modern and ancient, furthers the patriarchal "complex." Now I'm not knocking the concept of spirituality or the validity of holy works, especially since I have a very strong Christian faith. However, it doesn't take much work to see how churches manipulate texts to ensure that men stay in power. I won't go much further into this for fear of beginning a fire-storm of a debate, but if some posters are willing to have a casual posting session about this I will continue!

*steps off of soapbox* :p

Soliloquy,

I agree with some of the stuff you said, but I think it is dangerous to say that all of our behavior and preferences are propogated by society.

Well no, not all of it. I believe that majority of human behavior is created from family environments. However, I do truly believe that society leaves its impression on people.

It is up to the parents to make sure their children understand the differences and nurture them to formulate their own opinions about what is found in society. Granted, parents wont be able to override everything presented to a child throughout their years of education, but they can make a big difference in the way that material is comprehended.

I'm so glad I had the parents I did. I'm also glad to hear that there are parents like OneTime who actually get hands on with their kids, instead of letting the TV do the raising.

I'll have to see if I can find one, it's just one of those things I've learned in class at some point throughout the years. Something about the blend of features and middle toned complexion.

:D :D :D :D :D I always knew I was beautiful ! hehehehe :p

please understand that this is all coming from 'psychology today'. i'm not completely downing on the concepts, because there is some REALLY interesting work being done in psychology that just IS NOT pc. but whatever.

psychology today is a pop psychology magazine. NOT a scientific journal. just keep that in mind.

sometimes yes, but sometimes - really really no. (Of course, Glitter650 is one of the yeses.)

Oh there's a spectrum like anything else. I'll try to find it when I get home, but it was one of those attractiveness studies... Similarly you're more attractive if your face is more symmetrical.

(And I mean you in the general sense and attractive in an on the average statistical sense.)

Yeah, this is actually what I was going to post - all the scientific work I've seen done on attractiveness suggests that it's in fact balance and symmetry that matters "most" on the whole.

This would perhaps indicate that a balanced (middle-toned) complexion and 'mixed' features that do not sway wildly toward any extremes would fit within the 'symmetry' model (if we allow it to extend to balance as well, which I think is reasonable) - but that seems like a side note of sorts to the actual phenomenon.

This is why the citation is interesting to me - it's a causation/correlation thing, I'd like to see how the study was performed and what the conclusions were. It's a very interesting topic.

most people i know are attracted to people who look (generally) like them. tall people and tall people, light eyes with light eyes, etc. it makes sense but at the same time it's kinda gross. i have a good friend who is dating a girl that they could honestly go for brother and sister. yuck!

Come on - who could resist these faces???:D
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...4412000400.jpg

Yeah, I'll find it if I can :) Everything you're saying is spot on, and I agree that it might be the balance of features between extremes. Perhaps also an indication of a well mixed gene pool? I wish I could remember off the top of my head.

There was an article about how they'd proven that symmetry was wrong. I can't find the link and I don't remember where I read it but it's out there.

-Rudey
--I think the link between blowjob enthusiasm and beauty is definitely clear and valid.

OK - I'll look when I have a minute.

Also, enthusiasm =/= looking up at you, amirite? AMIRITE?

AlphaFrog - pulling the adorable children card, eh? Not scientific, but too, too cute. My daughters had dresses like that one once upon a time - I'm going to my room to cry about my 17 year old daughter leaving next year . . .

As a wise woman once said... If you've got it, flaunt it.:D

I did, so you must be right.