View Full Version : Polygamy with a grain of salt.
Want to live a little longer? Get a second wife. New research suggests that men from polygamous cultures outlive those from monogamous ones.
After accounting for socioeconomic differences, men aged over 60 from 140 countries that practice polygamy to varying degrees lived on average 12% longer than men from 49 mostly monogamous nations, says Virpi Lummaa, an ecologist at the University of Sheffield, UK.
Lummaa presented her findings last week at the International Society for Behavioral Ecology’s annual meeting in Ithaca, New York.
Rather than a call to polygamy, the research might solve a long-standing puzzle in human biology: Why do men live so long?
This question only makes sense after asking the same for women, who - unlike nearly all other animals - live long past the menopause.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14564
John Scott
08-21-2008, 03:29 AM
Guess I have an excuse now to marry several women.
Guess I have an excuse now to marry several women.
I wish you luck in convincing the women. :p
I think The Moral Animal (http://www.amazon.com/Moral-Animal-Science-Evolutionary-Psychology/dp/0679763996/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219317637&sr=8-1) had a good explanation as to why women prefer monogamy.
John Scott
08-21-2008, 04:25 AM
Looks like an interesting read.
Looks like an interesting read.
Ehhhh...grain of salt.
Cricket
08-21-2008, 07:06 PM
And here I always thought is was just because we don't like to share. ;)
And here I always thought is was just because we don't like to share. ;)
We don't.
As I recall, the book's take is that it's all about the children. Women appear to be more inclined toward finding mates who can provide security and stability for their children.
Recent studies seem to support this theory. According to one study, women are quite adept at accurately determining a potential mate's affinity for children:
Men whose faces reflected an interest in children were intuitively perceived by woman as candidates for long-term commitments, whereas men whose faces indicated high testosterone levels were determined to be short-term prospects for relationships.
http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=1457
John Scott
08-23-2008, 02:34 AM
Men whose faces reflected an interest in children
Sounds like voodoo to me. Some great fathers don't look like great fathers. I don't see how a woman can determine with any accuracy by looks alone whether or not a man is into kids.
Sounds like voodoo to me. Some great fathers don't look like great fathers. I don't see how a woman can determine with any accuracy by looks alone whether or not a man is into kids.
Perhaps. Men with higher levels of testosterone do seem to have more pronounced and less feminine facial features.
Here's another interesting tidbit:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec06/testosterone.html
John Scott
08-23-2008, 08:43 PM
Perhaps. Men with higher levels of testosterone do seem to have more pronounced and less feminine facial features.
Here's another interesting tidbit:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec06/testosterone.html
Interesting. I should have my testosterone level checked.
By the way, from looking at me what do I look like, testosterone-wise?
By the way, from looking at me what do I look like, testosterone-wise?
You look like someone with high testosterone levels.
John Scott
08-23-2008, 08:49 PM
You look like someone with high testosterone levels.
No. Not me. ;)
But seriously, is cheating about high testosterone? I thought it was more about .... emotional insecurity.
No. Not me. ;)
But seriously, is cheating about high testosterone? I thought it was more about .... emotional insecurity.
I honestly don't know. It may very well be both. I doubt it's that black and white.
eternaltraveler
08-23-2008, 09:56 PM
Want to live a little longer? Get a second wife. New research suggests that men from polygamous cultures outlive those from monogamous ones.
how many wives do I need to achive my goals? ;)
how many wives do I need to achive my goals? ;)
That would probably depend on your goals.
eternaltraveler
08-23-2008, 11:10 PM
That would probably depend on your goals.
living for a few orders of magnitude more years than 3 score and 10 as you well know ;)
living for a few orders of magnitude more years than 3 score and 10 as you well know ;)
That's one goal, Mr. Long.
eternaltraveler
08-23-2008, 11:55 PM
That's one goal, Mr. Long.
one that is a prerequisite for many others
one that is a prerequisite for many others
Good luck with that. :D
elisheva.d
09-11-2008, 02:15 AM
I wish you luck in convincing the women. :p
If John comes to Indonesia, there'll be loads of women volunteering... LOL. Many moslem women here wouldn't mind.
If John comes to Indonesia, there'll be loads of women volunteering... LOL. Many moslem women here wouldn't mind.
I stand corrected.