Tag Archives: anthropology

The Goodness Paradox

Posted on May 21, 2020 by

The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution © 2019 Richard Wrangham 400 pages The Goodness Paradox cannot help but be fascinating, for it seeks to address one of the most pressing questions of human … Continue reading →

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Why is Sex Fun?

Posted on January 16, 2020 by

Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality © 1997 Jared Diamond 172 pages Why is Sex Fun is a provocatively titled, slim volume on the evolution of human sexuality. Diamond never addresses the titular question, though,  instead  evaluating … Continue reading →

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Of Neanderthals and dogs and extinction level events

Posted on July 8, 2018 by

Time for science short rounds! Last week I read The Invaders,  a much-anticipated work about how dogs gave humans a competitive edge over their neanderthal cousins. This brief book posits that human beings function like invasive species, and after establishing … Continue reading →

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Sapiens

Posted on December 7, 2016 by

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind443 pages© 2014  Yuval Noah Harari In Sapiens, Yuval Harari presents a natural history of the human race from its flowering across Eurasia to a worried reflection on the prospects of of technohumanism. The book’s … Continue reading →

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The Ugly Little Boy

Posted on July 28, 2016 by

The Ugly Little Boy© 1991 Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg. Based on the 1958 short story by Asimov.290 How would you like to babysit a Neanderthal?   Granted, Edith Fellowes didn’t realize that was the job description. She knew she’d be … Continue reading →

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TBR: And Then There was One

Posted on July 12, 2016 by

Dear readers,  we approach the end for the To be Read Takedown Challenge! Richard Francis’ Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World proved disappointing, not because of the quality of content but the focus thereof.  Although Domesticated sells itself as a … Continue reading →

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Demonic Males

Posted on January 22, 2016 by

Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence© 1996 Dale Peterson and Richard Wrangham350 pages Why is the world run by violent men?  Demonic Males  argues that human males are by violent by nature,  a trait we share with … Continue reading →

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