One thing that gives me continual amusement is looking at human behavior and seeing how it used to help us survive. Lots of things, mostly related to reproduction and the differences between men and women, can be traced back to the beginning of the species. Why do guys like big breasts? Because they’re a sign of fertility, and that used to be a much bigger concern than it is now. Why do men seem so reluctant to commit, compared to women? Because their basic instinct tells them to spread their seed around as much as they can, creating as many children as possible. A woman’s basic instinct tells her to get a strong, stable man to stick around and provide for her while she has children so that they have a better chance of surviving.

Society has changed so much that today, most of those instincts are more of a hindrance than a help. The extinction of humanity isn’t much of a concern, so we don’t need men spreading their seed as far as they can.

What’s even more fun is taking things you notice and trying to figure out how they would have been a benefit in hunter-gatherer life. Some things have to be stretched a lot. For instance, I’ve noticed that boys are a lot more concerned with their proximity to other boys than girls are. I’ve heard of school trips where guys sleep in bathtubs so that they won’t have to share a bad with another guy. One of the funniest things is to see three or four boys sitting in an auditorium, one seat between each of them so that they don’t have to sit next to each other. Girls, on the other hand (I’m generalizing here, of course, as I was before), have no problem touching each other. We hug, we sleep in the same bed, we sit on top of each other, it’s all good.

I know it’s because boys, for the most part, are much more concerned with seeming heterosexual and manly. Manly men aren’t cuddly! But what benefit could that urge have served? Maybe it made them seem stronger, which would make women want to carry their children. After all, strong man = strong DNA. Strong DNA = strong children. Strong children = humanity living another generation. But how exactly does not touching other men make you seem strong? Since many of the “strong” men of other cultures (samurai, ancient Greek warriors) have pracited homosexuality, the attitude must be a product of our society- unless someone can come up with another plausible explanation.