The World's Best Book Summaries
Why don’t mammals reproduce asexually? Why are sperm so much smaller than eggs? Why do male mammals typically have to fight to inseminate a female? Reproduction in mammals varies depending on species. The main reason mammals reproduce sexually is to promote genetic diversity, otherwise, an entire species could be wiped out with one sickness. Keep reading to learn more about reproduction in mammals.
What are the three main factors that affect our happiness? What part of the happiness formula are in our control? The happiness formula states that our happiness is a function of our affective style (S), the conditions of our lives (C), and our voluntary activities (V)—or H=S+C+V. Some factors in the happiness formula are out of our control, but some are completely in our control to improve upon. Continue reading to learn more about the happiness formula.
How do you get a good statistical sample? How do some people manipulate their sample selection to mislead others? In How to Lie With Statistics, Darrell Huff explains the criteria for getting a good statistical sample size. Good sampling in statistics is important because bad sampling can lead to unintentional (or intentional) bias and misleading numbers. Keep reading to learn how to get a good sample and avoid bad sampling.
What do emotions have to do with evolution? Why do we diagnose overly anxious people but not people who don’t feel anxiety at all? How can sadness actually benefit us? According to the authors of Why We Get Sick, emotions are a maladaptive psychological process. In the Stone Age, anxiety was necessary to keep us alive and sadness prevented us from repeating losses. Keep reading for more information about the evolutionary functions of emotions.
How can social norms promote acts of selflessness? Why do people try harder when they’re not being paid? Experiments have shown that when given free stuff, people are less likely to be greedy and more likely to selflessly leave some for others. When those items cost even a small amount of money, people are more likely to greedily purchase more. This could have serious implications for society. Keep reading to learn how “free” things can increase acts of selflessness.
What is the theory of self-concept? Should we de-emphasize the self? Or can celebrating it make us happy? Self-concept theory is the how an individual thinks about themselves. In the east, they de-emphasize the self to reach enlightenment. In the west, many celebrate the ethic of autonomy. Ultimately, we should be practicing a bit of both. Keep reading to learn more about the self-concept theory.
How does the human body defend against pathogens and bacteria? What strategies and counters do the body use? Some bodily defense mechanisms have dual purposes that benefit both the host and the pathogen. Similarly, some infectious diseases cause damage to the host which is costly to the pathogen as well. This is because both the host and the pathogen need to make compromises. Keep reading to learn about the body’s defense against pathogens and bacteria.
What can you learn from the How to Lie With Statistics book? What are the ten techniques that liars use to manipulate statistics? How can you assess if a statistic is reliable? In his book How to Lie With Statistics, Darrell Huff explains how people (advertisers, companies, anyone with an agenda) can manipulate numbers to yield statistics that support their cause. Since these people aren’t actually lying, it isn’t considered illegal. Huff teaches you what to look out for and how to see through liars. Continue on for more on How to Lie With Statistics.
What is disgust? How is disgust closely related to divinity? What is the opposite of disgust? Our sense of disgust was probably an advantage in natural selection, as it would have prevented us from coming into contact with things that were harmful to us. Aversion to disgust is ingrained in us so deeply that we try to separate ourselves from actions we deem unclean in order to reach divinity. Keep reading to learn more about the logic of disgust and how it relates to religion.
Is there such thing as group selection? Why did the lemmings jump off the cliff in the famous documentary? The theory of “group selection” states that some members of a group may sacrifice themselves for the good of the species. This theory is greatly flawed because if there was a self-sacrificing gene, then the members of the group with that gene would die out very quickly. Continue reading about the myth of group selection.