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Quote by: dilligras  I can tell debating with you wouldn't take long, as there's not much to disagree with. |
Well, you're no fun.
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Quote by: dilligras I should also have pointed out that the two extremes (nerds and Rock Hudson/Mongos) were not the only choices for females, and the more likely average choices would involve gradients of both. |
Indeed. And it seems that there is a gradient of success in the matter of peacock tails too. While the peacocks with the largest and most ostentatious tails were the most successful breeders, their numbers in a wild population are inversely proportional to the size of their tails. (Well, not exactly. It is probably more of a skewed bell curve.) Thus, peacocks in the middle standard deviation do reproduce, and quite probably some in the lower end of the curve do too. But those in the upper end tend to produce more offspring per individual, and that is enough to drive evolution towards big, beautiful tails. Hypothetically, such individuals are at the peak of fitness in order to overcome the disadvantage of the large tail.
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Quote by: dilligras All other things being equal, it is natural to place appearance on the list of desirable qualities for any beings with eyes (being a primary source of sensory experience of the person being considered.) |
Well then. I guess that explains Jessica Simpson.
This discussion brings to mind a personal experience. My wife and I visited a bird sanctuary by the Brazos River in Texas. At one point we were drawn off the main path onto a secondary path by a god-awful screech. In a small clearing we encountered a peacock. As I prepared to take his picture, he fanned his tail at me and screeched again. I told my wife that either this was a seriously twisted peacock, or that there was a peahen nearby. Within seconds, 5 peahens came out from behind some buildings behind me, walked past me without notice, and down into the trees along the river. The peacock folded his beautiful tail and then followed the hens into the trees. I wonder which one of those hens winked at him.