Friday, April 9, 2010

Book Review: Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters by Miller and Kanazawa

I thought this was a very interesting book, but it is clearly somewhat controversial and unpopular. The authors basically attempt to demonstrate how many aspects of human nature (i.e., human behavior) can traced back to evolutionary selection. They take a few very simple ideas (e.g. humans want to pass on their genes as much as possible) and apply those ideas to try and answer questions about human nature (e.g., why are most violent criminals men). I found some of their explanations likely, some plausible, and some unlikely, and I also believe most people will find at least a few explanations to be unlikely and borderline offensive. So, if you like interesting books and don't mind reading a few claims that you will disagree with, you will probably enjoy this book. If you do not like reading stuff you disagree with, avoid this book. Grade: B.

No comments: