Nature’s Mating Dance: Do Females Prefer Honest Males?

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  • čas přidán 28. 04. 2024
  • I will be on tour of North America, UK & EU talking about my latest book, religion, life on earth and beyond. I will be joined on stage by a range of friends and foes on stage. The events will include a Q&A and a limited meet-and-greet. You can get your tickets here: richarddawkinstour.com/
    #richarddawkins #richarddawkinstour
    Why are there two sexes, and how is the balance between the two maintained in evolution? The riddle is one that baffled Chales Darwin. He explicitly left it for later generations. It was eventually solved, with typical brilliance, by the great Ronald Fisher.
    The fundamental sexual inequality is an economic one. Eggs are hugely larger than sperm. From this much follows. Why do peacocks have such a ridiculously large, ornamental “tail”, when it obviouly must put them in danger? Do females go for male beauty for beauty’s sake (as Darwin thought, and Fisher explained)? Or are males advertising some useful quality (as AlfredWallace, Darwin's co-discoverer of natural selection, insisted). Is the peacock’s tail favoured in spite of being a handicap? Or could it be favoured precisely becuse it is a costly handicap? Does it have to be costly as a certificate of honesty? Do females only go for honest males?
    This is a talk I gave on a ship crusing the Galapagos archipelago.
    ------------------
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    I will be on tour of North America, UK & EU talking about my latest book, religion, life on earth and beyond. I will be joined on stage by a range of friends and foes on stage. The events will include a Q&A and a limited meet-and-greet. You can get your tickets here: richarddawkinstour.com/
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Komentáře • 138

  • @ABARANOWSKISKI
    @ABARANOWSKISKI Před 18 dny +49

    I'm going to be meeting Richard Dawkins in just a few days from now! Well, I don't know if we are personally going to meet, but I'm going to be attending a Richard Dawkins event in New York City, Brooklyn. I'm so looking forward to this! If I actually get a chance to interact with Mr. Dawkins in person, that is going to be a huge moment for me, and honour and a privilege, as Richard Dawkins is an intellectual hero of mine, and he had a big impact on my life, as I'm a former Creationist, who came to accept evolution & reality years ago, and Richard Dawkins played an important part in that. I would like to thank him in person, he changed my life in so many positive ways. Can't wait for the event!

    • @meridianheights6255
      @meridianheights6255 Před 18 dny +9

      Good luck! I wish I could attend. Meeting Dawkins would be more exciting than meeting Elvis, for me.

    • @fullup91
      @fullup91 Před 18 dny +2

      So, what do you believe now that you're no longer a creationist?

    • @barbaragemin5117
      @barbaragemin5117 Před 16 dny +3

      Enjoy the event and having a chance to speak to him even if it’s only a book signing, as it was for me. I had the chance to thank him at least, and he was as kind and gentlemanly as you’d expect. A hero of mine too.

    • @barbaragemin5117
      @barbaragemin5117 Před 16 dny +1

      As fascinating as always ! Looking forward to the next talk, rarely miss one.

    • @ebena.k.8032
      @ebena.k.8032 Před 15 dny

      Nothing creationism ​@@fullup91

  • @truepotential206
    @truepotential206 Před 18 dny +42

    Your voice is still a thing of beauty professor

  • @tercertwin
    @tercertwin Před 11 dny +3

    Dear Mr. Dawkins,
    Few years ago I read a book called THE EVOLUTION OF BEAUTY written by the evolutionary biologist and ornithologist Richard O. Prum. The text is at its core a defense of Darwin's idea about sexual selection, which, according to Prum, has been historically under attack because it forces us to recognize that our specie is NOT the only one capable of develoing beauty standards and that aesthetic judgements (subjective experiences) take part in the process of evolution. I wonder if you would consider inviting this author to you podcast. I'm sure it could be a rather enlightening conversation. Greetings from Mexico.

  • @meridianheights6255
    @meridianheights6255 Před 18 dny +8

    This is just so fascinating. Halfway through I wasn't sure I was grasping it for a moment, But Dawkins being the great teacher that he is brought it all together in a way that makes sense to me. I'm just a layman with a love of biology. Dawkins has taught me so much. Thank you, Professor Dawkins.

  • @charlottewilhelmsen7511
    @charlottewilhelmsen7511 Před 18 dny +10

    Please do more of these lectures. So enlightening and yet possible for laypeople like me to understand.

  • @morgenmofo
    @morgenmofo Před 14 dny +2

    Absolutely brilliant. I also like the way this highlights the beauty of the Israelite's wit.

  • @HecticGlenn
    @HecticGlenn Před 17 dny +2

    As always a great explanation of sexual selection! I've always wondered about the genetic tug of war between phenotypic features where sexual selection characteristics with limited utility are in conflict with things like camoflage / mimicry.

  • @warrenchinn4114
    @warrenchinn4114 Před 17 dny +1

    Superb. Clear, interesting, useful. Many thanks

  • @n3k0lein
    @n3k0lein Před 18 dny +1

    This topic is wonderfully observable within my cockatiel flock.. As always great video sir.

  • @seans9203
    @seans9203 Před 18 dny +3

    Terrific Richard - thanks - cheers, Sean

  • @joshyman221
    @joshyman221 Před 18 dny +1

    Thanks as always. I hope to meet you in Cambridge one day.

  • @gavinharvey7523
    @gavinharvey7523 Před 18 dny +1

    Thank you for your lecture and insight.

  • @richardlankas2050
    @richardlankas2050 Před 17 dny +2

    Such an amazing communicator, always amazed at your unique ability to communicate really complex concepts in really, really simple terms. Thank you for sharing, Prof. Dawkins.

  • @u.s.navy_pete4111
    @u.s.navy_pete4111 Před 17 dny +3

    Great lecture by the great Dawkins!

  • @ohalloranjames
    @ohalloranjames Před 17 dny

    i love the gear keep it coming folks

  • @mafaldamatos8970
    @mafaldamatos8970 Před 15 dny

    Professor Dawkins, what about pheromones? Do females tend to choose males through chemical smell? Thank you

  • @eniggma9353
    @eniggma9353 Před 17 dny +1

    Was this a lecture on a cruise ship? Where could one seek such luxuries? Great stuff

  • @user-wx7hc8vf1l
    @user-wx7hc8vf1l Před 11 dny +1

    Such a cute shirt, such a cute professor

  • @Scandimania
    @Scandimania Před 17 dny +1

    This is delightful to listen to. I am thankful that I discovered Dawkins

  • @killerall5312
    @killerall5312 Před 18 dny

    captivating once again

  • @ManiM-kw6jz
    @ManiM-kw6jz Před 18 dny

    Fascinating ❤

  • @eurwentrumper1946
    @eurwentrumper1946 Před 18 dny +6

    Good morning there. Honest even if it hurts, not for everyone. I remind you that somebody like Prince Phillip had 2 heart surgeries and died at 99 to name a few. J. Goodall is another honest Aries.

    • @30noir
      @30noir Před 17 dny

      Evolution isn't really interested in what happens to you after you've had kids, though. If you don't have kids, you're irrelevant.

  • @joedennehy386
    @joedennehy386 Před 18 dny

    Excellent

  • @adamayyad4744
    @adamayyad4744 Před 17 dny

    I love those speeches

  • @juliehowe3
    @juliehowe3 Před 17 dny

    Great talk, but the reflection of the audience moving around is distracting. It annoys me that they don’t just sit still and listen, enthralled. They do, after all, have the great privilege of being there!!

  • @davecannabis
    @davecannabis Před 18 dny +4

    its so good to hear someone say "zo-ologist" instead of "zoo-ologists" like several other people i like to watch

  • @StevenVanOver
    @StevenVanOver Před 18 dny

    Educational (of course) but also gripping and thought-provoking. Typical Dawkins. Thank you.

  • @louisehaley5105
    @louisehaley5105 Před 17 dny

    17:33- do similar genes affect how humans are attracted to the opposite sex ?

  • @IcyWun
    @IcyWun Před 13 dny +1

    I am so disappointed by Richard's recent "i don't want to be on camera" video. I can't repeat what was said so look for yourselves. Such a let down.

  • @Juka161
    @Juka161 Před 18 dny

    Well like the song of Rod Stewart
    “Some guys have all the luck 🍀 “

    • @bobgreenfield9158
      @bobgreenfield9158 Před 6 dny

      He is about 5' 3". He has had
      thousands of girls. Under normal
      circumstances he would be sexless. His wealth and status
      in the music industry brought
      {or bought} him woman!

  • @levlevin182
    @levlevin182 Před 18 dny

    Is this a question of determinism? If it is, That is just fine by me. Please continue. However, Everybody love's happiness!

  • @Azozeo
    @Azozeo Před 18 dny +6

    I want a child of knowledge.regardless of gender

  • @colinandrews1118
    @colinandrews1118 Před 18 dny +1

    We are all universe beings !!!
    All life exists on our world 🌎 because universal elements allow us to the sun energized world 🌍 orbiting the sun with our moon !!!
    So the universe being as a whole is giving us life and promoting our lives !!!
    So therefore we should all try and treat each other with love ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ and kindness on lifes universal journey!!!
    Lots of universal love everyone Colin
    Hope you're keeping well Richard love Colin

  • @11-AisexualsforGod-11
    @11-AisexualsforGod-11 Před 18 dny

    Nature has been subject to intelligent design as in artificial selection since the dawn of humans

  • @WayneLynch69
    @WayneLynch69 Před 18 dny

    As with all higher living things; 'they are attracted to that, whatever form, which is
    above them on the social hierarchy.'

    • @videowhat614
      @videowhat614 Před 3 dny

      Nah. Females typically look for that, but men are almost entirely focused on beauty. Obviously because men have historically been the ones required to pursue.

  • @user-xl8ku6uj3v
    @user-xl8ku6uj3v Před 18 dny +1

    ❤❤❤

  • @tnekkc
    @tnekkc Před 14 dny

    I had a summer job in 1975 building house foundations. I was tan and muscular. Women were attracted, but I was tired.

  • @martinbennett2228
    @martinbennett2228 Před 17 dny

    Males are much more expendable than females. It is an evolutionary advantage, if survival of the fittest is more challenging for the males. We have to consider why sexual reproduction at all, given that asexual reproduction is more efficient for population growth. The answer to that is the diversity upon which selection can act. If males with deleterious genetics are more readily eliminated, this becomes an efficient mechanism for improving the gene pool.
    It is culturally present in our own species: historically it is men, rather than women who have gone to war; the expression 'women and children first' has a survival value.
    This does not negate the arguments about sexual selection, but rather provides the underlying basis.

  • @kennypowers1945
    @kennypowers1945 Před 18 dny +1

    I think humans aren’t as simplistic as animals so being muscular or have big breasts etc aren’t enough for all to attract partners

    • @__-tz6xx
      @__-tz6xx Před 17 dny

      They are to me when there is nothing about the social aspect of someone is attractive to me. I live in a an area where most people don't share the same views and interests as I do so my attraction is reliant on physical appereances and how much I could tolerate them. It sucks.

  • @gravitheist5431
    @gravitheist5431 Před 18 dny

    They prefer the illusion

  • @iblard
    @iblard Před 18 dny

    ​​Is it heard of males checking the health of females?

  • @--Snowy--
    @--Snowy-- Před 18 dny +1

    Why do females prefer snowmen? 😊

  • @carolynhogarth2725
    @carolynhogarth2725 Před 16 dny

    You know about the cells and neurons of the brain, is it a good thing to have sequences that attack the optimum brains functions. Do you think neurodegeneration would be a factor? Do you think the mitochondria with ATP's depleting, might cause the liver's toxic protein to misfold and cause two foot long clots that are proven to come out of the veins. Whether you call it arterial disease or embalmers disease, still it is caused by covid 19. Fact.

  • @11-AisexualsforGod-11
    @11-AisexualsforGod-11 Před 18 dny

    But why would you want to "win" if the prize was ugliness?
    This is why humans practice central planning and artificial selection

  • @SheeplessShepherd
    @SheeplessShepherd Před 5 dny

    Two of my children were born on the same day, my third, the same day as my niece, coincidence? OK 😂

    • @oranges557
      @oranges557 Před dnem

      What would be the point for a creator in giving your kids the same birthday? Ita a useless coincidence

    • @SheeplessShepherd
      @SheeplessShepherd Před dnem

      @@oranges557 It hints at design imo.
      There is lots of coincidences, you can only have so many coincidences.

    • @oranges557
      @oranges557 Před dnem

      @@SheeplessShepherd it doesnt hint at design AT ALL. There are billions of people who didnt experience that. When there are 8 billion people, things like these will happen. How can you be so naive?

    • @SheeplessShepherd
      @SheeplessShepherd Před dnem

      Seek and you shall find.
      When you truly realise that it's unknowable then you'll know

  • @isabelc2131
    @isabelc2131 Před 16 dny

    I don't like the fact that this video starts with telling the audience that they should pay up to see something they've been waiting for on time.

  • @RichardTasgal
    @RichardTasgal Před 18 dny +1

    Why only two sexes? What has evolution never thrown up a species with fertile xx, xy, and yy individuals? Or is there somewhere? Could there have been in the past?

    • @TuntunGamer
      @TuntunGamer Před 18 dny

      Evolution might have produced this chromosome combination at some point but it would be defective / abnormal and such would likely not be something that would carry on unless there was some sort of evolutionary advantage to it.
      To say male / female is to describe or represent the vast amount of likely sexes that reproduce.
      It also correctly describes those chromosomes that you commented as they still would be considered male / female by virtue of the fact they have reproduced, they would simply be identified as chromosomal abnormalities.

    • @RichardTasgal
      @RichardTasgal Před 18 dny

      @@TuntunGamer There is not a single evolutionary niche on earth in which an additional sex (say, yy) comprised of generally healthy fertile individuals would not have advantages for the species? Who knows what they might do. Perhaps under some conditions, the individuals are mostly xx and xy and just a few yy, and then under favorable conditions the species might switch to mostly xy and yy and just a few xx. Or another dynamic. It's a big world out there. Some niche.

    • @DM-ql6ps
      @DM-ql6ps Před 18 dny +3

      Because sex cells, eggs and sperm are haploid and animals themselves are diplod. Thus our genomes can easily be split in two and recombined with another to create a new diploid individual. A system with more than two sexes would require a genome that could easily be split and then recombined in a different number. Since sex cells are half of the genome, each, each animal has two parents. Of course, that is just the nuclear DNA that spilts. Mitochondrial DNA doesn't split and can't recombine - thus can only come from one parent. So each animal has two parents: one that donates 1/2 of the nuclear genome and one that donates 1/2 of the nuclear gemone plus the mitochondrial DNA.
      Sperm cells have just a few mitochondria that snap off and die during fertilization. Egg cells have lots of mitochondria to fuel the embryos growth. The average sperm cell has less than 100 mitochondria, the average egg cell has 100,000 (why egg cells are so huge compared to sperm). A typical body cell has 300 - 400.
      Thus sperm cells are cheap to make but don't last long and eggs are expensive to make but live for decades.

    • @DM-ql6ps
      @DM-ql6ps Před 18 dny +2

      Of course there are other sex determination systems, but they all also produce two sexes where one sex produces lots of small cheap gametes and the other produces a few big expensive ones. Birds use ZW where males are ZZ and females are ZW. Many reptiles use temperature determination. Many fish are sequential hermaphrodites where they are first one sex and then the other (but at no point do they ever produce a third gamete. They still produce either sperm or eggs)

    • @RichardTasgal
      @RichardTasgal Před 18 dny

      @@DM-ql6ps So, if I understand (it's not my field, so please bear with me), that explains why it would be a huge leap to have a sexes based on a genome that splits into three or more -- not natural for a helix. But the example I gave (not that this is the only possibility in the universe) had a genome that splits into two.

  • @xiki1506
    @xiki1506 Před 16 dny

    Los psicópatas ganan

  • @justinbyrge8997
    @justinbyrge8997 Před 13 dny

    "Do women prefer honest men?"
    🤔 No. They prefer a financially successful man. To the point that they are willing to succumb to and put up with vile and disgusting and even harmful behavior in order to secure a financially successful man.
    Caveat: this answer does not reflect the view of ALL women, nor can any answer do so. This is a generalization based on the data as well as what most women themselves admit to. And as with any generalization, there are outliers. If you happen to be one of those outliers who are reading this, calm down, you've been seen and noted.

  • @ursulageorgeson7086
    @ursulageorgeson7086 Před 18 dny

    Well this explains a lot of my daddy issues.

  • @oriel9347
    @oriel9347 Před 13 dny

    No.

  • @jonatasmachado7217
    @jonatasmachado7217 Před 13 dny

    Evolutionary speculation and just-so stories...

  • @debralittle1341
    @debralittle1341 Před 17 dny

    Only to a point. Muscle bound men look terrible.

  • @TheMiddleWayWithRay
    @TheMiddleWayWithRay Před 18 dny

    Everything is dualistic.

    • @jameswright...
      @jameswright... Před 18 dny +1

      Any evidence for that?
      Because all of science says there's no evidence for duelism, quite the opposite in fact.

    • @-Thauma-
      @-Thauma- Před 18 dny

      Please elaborate.

    • @TheMiddleWayWithRay
      @TheMiddleWayWithRay Před 6 dny

      @-Thauma- The way we experience life is in a two sided way. There is subject and object. I'm the subject, everything else is the object. Now, we project that way of experiencing on everything. Front/back, left/right, up/down, good/bad, science vs spirituality, Democrats vs Republicans, etc.

  • @chadsensei-ue6jn
    @chadsensei-ue6jn Před 17 dny

    Of course they prefer honesty. Trust is the basis of all healthy relationships.

  • @lachlanbrown3112
    @lachlanbrown3112 Před 18 dny +1

    W

  • @JesyB2023
    @JesyB2023 Před 17 dny

    In our understanding of reality, there are no absolute objective truths. Even something seemingly concrete, like a table, is merely a materialized possibility. Science, while valuable, doesn’t provide definitive answers. We have the power to alter a table’s composition, formulas, and governing laws. Everything is malleable. Evidence, often considered objective, is still subject to interpretation. It represents a conclusion, but that conclusion isn’t inherently objective either. Under different circumstances, an alternative conclusion could emerge. Nothing is set in stone. The conclusions drawn from scientific disciplines-physics, chemistry, and more-are all susceptible to new perspectives. What exists is just one among countless potential realities.

    • @MrMark595
      @MrMark595 Před 17 dny +1

      Word salad, gobblykook, Deepak Chopra woo. Nonsense.

    • @JesyB2023
      @JesyB2023 Před 17 dny

      @@MrMark595 What you believe as truth will be obsolete in less than 100 years. So, why do you believe it?

    • @JesyB2023
      @JesyB2023 Před 17 dny

      @@MrMark595 ALL of your favorite scientific studies are polluted with all kinds of bias. In fact, they only serve to generate even more questions than definitive answers.

    • @masti733
      @masti733 Před 17 dny

      Pass the bong this way, please. It must be good

    • @JesyB2023
      @JesyB2023 Před 17 dny

      @@masti733 Seriously, all of the people in this channel are smoking it. Yeah, objective reality, my a**. 😆😆😆🤥

  • @davecannabis
    @davecannabis Před 18 dny +5

    "Do Females Prefer Honest Males?", the answer is definitely no, females prefer males who say what they want to hear, thruthfulness has no bearing on it whatsoever

    • @jameswright...
      @jameswright... Před 18 dny +1

      Ever spoke to a woman?
      I'm pretty sure women want to hear both in one go...
      You know hearing what they want and like and it being the truth too...
      It is possible!

    • @Debbie-henri
      @Debbie-henri Před 18 dny +3

      You haven't been out with many women, have you?

    • @jameswright...
      @jameswright... Před 18 dny +1

      @@Debbie-henri
      I should have put in my post...
      Women are cool with things they don't like too, it's the honesty we all appreciate most and can deal with anything.
      But male or female we all prefer the truth to be things we like 😁

    • @RaveyDavey
      @RaveyDavey Před 17 dny +2

      Utter nonsense. They’re not a different species lol.

  • @goawayplzthnx
    @goawayplzthnx Před 16 dny

    Stupid title

  • @sananton2821
    @sananton2821 Před 17 dny

    Richard...do you not know what a comet is?

  • @sananton2821
    @sananton2821 Před 17 dny

    No explanation touching on honesty was offered. Why not lie to make yourself seem healthier?

  • @snehashispanda4808
    @snehashispanda4808 Před 18 dny +3

    Monotheism (the doctrine or belief that there is only one God) is blamed as the instigator of ignorance, oppression, and violence. Monotheism has been a "totalizing discourse", often co-opting all aspects of a social belief system, resulting in the exclusion of "others". Monotheism is less pluralistic and thus less tolerant than polytheism, because monotheism stipulates that people pigeonhole their beliefs into one tenet. "Monotheism is irreconcilable with the existence in our nature of the instincts of benevolence" because it compels followers to devote themselves to a single Creator. The logic of monotheism ... yields little basis for tolerating other religions". Monotheism anesthetize the sense of wonder as if one were committed to a single line of thought by a cosmic legal contract".

    • @blupandax7902
      @blupandax7902 Před 18 dny

      If monotheism is “less tolerant” than polytheism due to having less gods, what does that mean for atheism who go one step further and say there are no gods at all? Monotheism is the middle ground between atheism and polytheism.

    • @tangerinetangerine4400
      @tangerinetangerine4400 Před 17 dny

      ​@@blupandax7902monotheism and polytheism are equally delusional views based on wishful thinking, fear, ignorance and tradition. None of these can be described as middle ground in connection to atheism. Atheism is merely lack of belief. It doesn't profess anything beyond that. If an atheist is tolerant it's most likely because they are humanist or some other philosophy.

    • @MacrossFaltenmeyer
      @MacrossFaltenmeyer Před 13 dny

      ​@@blupandax7902 Flawed logic.

    • @blupandax7902
      @blupandax7902 Před 13 dny

      @@MacrossFaltenmeyer Prove it.

    • @MacrossFaltenmeyer
      @MacrossFaltenmeyer Před 12 dny

      @@blupandax7902 monotheism is all about super mighty god that is everywhere around us, and he can do everything that smaller polytheist gods could. So I wouldn't call it "middle ground", especially when monotheist religions were generally even more critical towards atheists than polytheistic religions.

  • @ALavin-en1kr
    @ALavin-en1kr Před 18 dny

    All this to explain that animals operate by instinct alone. So, so, so, tired of Darwinism and to the human with reason being reduced to biology, to instinct, as if reason were an anomaly, Just as well animals do not have to know that their privacy is invaded. What does all this mean for the trans human now being considered. What part of our animal selves should be ditched and what parts should we maintain? What does it have to do with our future as we face infinite space, which when Pascal saw it said: these infinite spaces terrify me.

  • @Gregoryismnz
    @Gregoryismnz Před 7 dny +1

    Money and looks, thats it- in order

  • @HelpMeFindTheseSongs
    @HelpMeFindTheseSongs Před 17 dny +2

    I'm a 38 year old single man so you already know I'm taking notes on this lecture! 😄