Survival of the Prettiest
The Science of Beauty
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Narrated by:
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Donna Postel
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By:
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Nancy Etcoff
About this listen
A provocative and thoroughly researched inquiry into what we find beautiful and why, skewering the myth that the pursuit of beauty is a learned behavior.
In Survival of the Prettiest, Nancy Etcoff, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, argues that beauty is neither a cultural construction, an invention of the fashion industry, nor a backlash against feminism - it's in our biology.
Beauty, she explains, is an essential and ineradicable part of human nature that is revered and ferociously pursued in nearly every civilization - and for good reason. Those features to which we are most attracted are often signals of fertility and fecundity. When seen in the context of a Darwinian struggle for survival, our sometimes extreme attempts to attain beauty - both to become beautiful ourselves and to acquire an attractive partner - suddenly become much more understandable. Moreover, if we understand how the desire for beauty is innate, then we can begin to work in our own interests, and not just the interests of our genetic tendencies.
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- Unabridged
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Between what can be learned from evolutionary psychology and cognitive science a picture emerges. In Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life, social psychologist Douglas Kenrick fuses these two fields to create a coherent story of human nature. In his analysis, many ingrained, apparently irrational behaviors—one-night stands, prejudice, conspicuous consumption, even art and religious devotion—are quite explicable and (when desired) avoidable.
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Rather dated and self-aggrandizing
- By Laurie Frick on 07-21-11
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Vagina Obscura
- An Anatomical Voyage
- By: Rachel E. Gross
- Narrated by: Siho Ellsmore
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The Latin term for the female genitalia, pudendum, means “parts for which you should be ashamed”. Until 1651, ovaries were called female testicles. The fallopian tubes are named for a man. Named, claimed, and shamed: Welcome to the story of the female body, as penned by men. Today, a new generation of (mostly) women scientists is finally redrawing the map. With modern tools and fresh perspectives, they’re looking at the organs traditionally bound up in reproduction—the uterus, ovaries, vagina—and seeing within them a new biology of change and resilience.
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poor narration
- By Jane on 08-23-22
By: Rachel E. Gross
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Our Inner Ape
- A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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We have long attributed man's violent, aggressive, competitive nature to his animal ancestry. But what if we are just as given to cooperation, empathy, and morality by virtue of our genes? What if our behavior actually makes us apes? What kind of apes are we?
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I loved this book
- By Ruth on 06-22-07
By: Frans de Waal
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Cinderella Ate My Daughter
- Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture
- By: Peggy Orenstein
- Narrated by: Peggy Orenstein
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Pink and pretty or predatory and hardened, sexualized girlhood influences our daughters from infancy onward, telling them that how a girl looks matters more than who she is. Somewhere between the exhilarating rise of Girl Power in the 1990s and today, the pursuit of physical perfection has been recast as a source - the source - of female empowerment. And commercialization has spread the message faster and farther, reaching girls at ever-younger ages.
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No solution just worry
- By Marie on 06-28-12
By: Peggy Orenstein
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I Can Read You Like a Book
- By: Gregory Hartley, Maryann Karinch
- Narrated by: Gregory Hartley, Maryann Karinch
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Abridged
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I Can Read You Like A Book features a system for scanning and interpreting anyone's body language, enabling you to figure out what they are really saying or feeling.
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Fabulous in every way!
- By Minny on 07-11-21
By: Gregory Hartley, and others
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The Science of Happily Ever After
- What Really Matters in the Quest for Enduring Love
- By: Ty Tashiro
- Narrated by: Chris Chappell
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In this playful and informative exploration of the science behind how to choose a great mate, acclaimed relationship psychologist Dr. Ty Tashiro explores how to find enduring love. Dr. Tashiro translates reams of scientific studies and research data into the first audiobook to revolutionize the way we search for love. His research pinpoints why our decision-making abilities seem to fail when it comes to choosing mates and how we can make smarter choices.
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Simplistic advice...
- By R. Steiner on 02-14-17
By: Ty Tashiro
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Bozo Sapiens
- Why to Err Is Human
- By: Michael Kaplan, Ellen Kaplan
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Our species, it appears, is hardwired to get things wrong in myriad different ways. Why did recipients of a loan offer accept a higher rate of interest when a pretty woman's face was printed on the flyer? Why did one poll on immigration find the most despised aliens were ones from a group that did not exist? What made four of the Air Force's best pilots fly their planes, in formation, straight into the ground?
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A tour de force
- By Ivan on 07-05-11
By: Michael Kaplan, and others
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Bonk
- The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The study of sexual physiology has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey's attic.
Mary Roach, "The funniest science writer in the country", devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.
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Absolutely Wonderful!
- By Gurmukh on 07-05-08
By: Mary Roach
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The Rational Animal
- How Evolution Made Us Smarter Than We Think
- By: Douglas T. Kenrick, Vladas Griskevicius
- Narrated by: Tim Andres Pabon
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Why do three out of four professional football players go bankrupt? How can illiterate jungle dwellers pass a test that tricks Harvard philosophers? And why do billionaires work so hard - only to give their hard-earned money away? When it comes to making decisions, the classic view is that humans are eminently rational. But growing evidence suggests instead that our choices are often irrational, biased, and occasionally even moronic. Which view is right - or is there another possibility?
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Good book
- By Justin on 02-17-17
By: Douglas T. Kenrick, and others
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The Bonobo and the Atheist
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In this lively and illuminating discussion of his landmark research, esteemed primatologist Frans de Waal argues that human morality is not imposed from above but instead comes from within. Moral behavior does not begin and end with religion but is in fact a product of evolution. For many years, de Waal has observed chimpanzees soothe distressed neighbors and bonobos share their food. Now he delivers fascinating fresh evidence for the seeds of ethical behavior in primate societies that further cements the case for the biological origins of human fairness.
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Great research on apes, bad research on humans
- By Christian Bonnell on 07-18-14
By: Frans de Waal
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Turned On
- Science, Sex and Robots
- By: Kate Devlin
- Narrated by: Kate Devlin
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Sexual activity is central to our very existence; it shapes how we think, how we act and how we live. With advances in technology come machines that may one day think independently. What will happen to us when we form close relationships with these intelligent systems? Sex robots are here and here to stay, and more are coming. This audiobook explores how the emerging and future development of sexual companion robots might affect us and the society in which we live. It explores the social changes arising from emerging technologies and our relationships with the machines that may someday care for us and about us.
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Nuanced, Smart, and Compassionate
- By Karen on 01-20-19
By: Kate Devlin
What listeners say about Survival of the Prettiest
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Claire West
- 08-06-24
Educational and interesting
Enjoyed listening to this book. The author makes some very good points. Really enjoy the fact that it’s grounded in scientific research.
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- Laura Brown
- 10-11-21
Candid observation of beauty in society & biology
ut's interesting to discover how beauty has progressed through the centuries and how strong biology is to favor and cultivate this gift of genes. A candid view of beauty in sociological and biological terms.
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- LeanneK9
- 06-24-19
An intriguing read
Despite being published originally 20 years ago, the science of “why” there’s “survival of the prettiest”, still remains firm over millennia ... an excellent performance and compilation of everything from why we curl our eyelashes, to the color and style of fabric that’s chosen - based on displayed signals explained in selection through survival of the most appealing conditions across the planet. Explaining the features fluctuating and correlating with environmental conditions like sunlight reflecting off snow (causing fatty pads around the eyes) or cooler climates supporting the longer, warming nasal passages in comparison to warm areas with wider, open nostrils seen in varieties of the human race.
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1 person found this helpful
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- K
- 02-27-24
A bit dense but I learned a lot and very interesting
I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend. Moved fast, a bit dense but well written. I learned a lot.
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- Mark
- 01-14-20
who is this lady?
this book deals with it all..... political influences racial influences geographical influences, societal influences, Anatomy, physiology, biology. The amount of statistics and evidence used to support her argument are amazing. She also seems to have some genuine insight into various ethnic groups. It is a straightforward and clear read but yet loaded with thought-provoking ideas! You have to read and reread it to be sure to capture everything she is trying to communicate. best read of the year so far!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Paul
- 02-23-21
Immersive
Filled with evidence, humorous and intriguing anecdotes from notable figures, and written in a way that gracefully captures your attention. Donna Postel does an amazing job.
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- Marisa Quiroz Lemus
- 06-23-22
iluminador
te ayuda a comprender muchas cosas que día a día te ayudan o no en la vida
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- Alednam A Uonopk
- 01-30-22
Insightful, interesting and informative...
·Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myth of Boyhood - William Pollack, Ph.D
·Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say - Warren Farrell
·You Just Don't Understand - Deborah Tannen, Ph.D
·The Female Brain - Louann Brizendine, MD
·Men On Strike: Why Men Are Boycotting Marriage, Fatherhood, and the American Dream - Helen Smith, Ph.D
·The Rational Male - Rollo Tomassi
·The Myth of Male Power: Why men are thr disposable sex - Warren Farrell, Ph.D
·The Rational Male: Preventive Medicine - Rollo Tomassi
·The Relationship Dismount: How to Stick the Landing When Exiting a Toxic Relationship - Renard 'Zo' Williams
·Sex, Time, and Power: How Woman's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution - Leonard Shlain
·Sex And Racism In America - Calvin C. Hernton
📚....
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- SG
- 09-01-22
Great content but not a fan of the reader
It may just be me but I struggled to get through this book because of the reader. Originally at first listen I thought it was a computer generated voice and not a real person. I managed to press on because the content was super interesting to me and the book is super informative! However the tone, cadence, and style of the reader were so bad that I had to take breaks and jump around to other audio books. It felt like a chore to listen even though the topic itself is so interesting to me.
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