(R)evolutionary Biology

David P. Barash is an evolutionary biologist and professor of psychology at the University of Washington; his most recent book is Out of Eden: The Surprising Consequences of Polygamy.

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• 
  May 10, 2018 4:44 am
  

  What Lay Behind the Toronto Van Attack?

  by David P. Barash

  A history of polygyny helps explain it.
  

• 
  Mar 26, 2018 2:25 pm
  

  Does MAD really work?

  by David P. Barash

  So far it has due to plain dumb luck.  But eventually, luck runs out. 
  

• 
  Mar 6, 2018 4:08 pm
  

  Our Gaslighting Geezer

  by David P. Barash

  At the end of the movie by which we gained the verb "gaslight" the villain gets his comeuppance.  Here's hoping the story of Trump ends similarly. 
  

• 
  Jun 3, 2017 10:41 am
  

  Watching the Trump Administration Unravel Is a Schadenfreude Delight

  by David P. Barash

  It reminds me of watching the Army-McCarthy hearings in the 1950s. 
  

• 
  Jan 27, 2017 5:15 pm
  

  Dr. Strangelove Resurfaces

  by David P. Barash

  The bizarre possibility exists that under President Trump, the United States may at last get some leverage out of its nuclear arsenal.
  

• 
  Jul 13, 2016 7:48 am
  

  The Pleistocene Push to Support Dominant Alpha Leaders*

  by David P. Barash

  *And by support I mean "succumb."
  

• 
  Apr 11, 2016 3:18 pm
  

  Human Beings Aren’t Elephant Seals. But Still ....

  by David P. Barash

  A close look at these creatures reveals a lot about male-female differences in our own species.
  

• 
  Mar 30, 2016 10:57 pm
  

  People Are Polyandrous, and Not Just Polygynous

  by David P. Barash

  One way people are not that different from birds.
  

• 
  Mar 18, 2016 4:58 pm
  

  People are Polygynous

  by David P. Barash

  Here is some of the evidence (btw, we’re also polyandrous).
  

• 
  Mar 9, 2016 3:13 pm
  

  Why We Likely Are Monogamous – And Why Most Men Should Be Glad We Are

  by David P. Barash

  Hint: Monogamy is part of our egalitarian ethos.
  

• 
  Oct 10, 2015 2:27 pm
  

  What the Prostate Gland Can Teach Us About War-Fighting

  by David P. Barash

  A clue:  The lesson of natural selection is that even mathematically precise systems fall short of perfection. We should keep this in mind as we assess what led to the bombing of a hospital run by Doctors without Borders.
  

• 
  Sep 24, 2015 3:10 pm
  

  Here Are One Dozen Reasons Why The Nuclear Agreement with Iran Is Better than the One with North Korea

  by David P. Barash

  Failing to understand this would be a historic mistake.
  

• 
  Jul 14, 2015 11:17 am
  

  Why Everybody Should Be Familiar with Tycho Brahe's Blunder

  by David P. Barash

  It helps explain why people deny climate change, resist the theory of evolution, and embrace the theology of anti-vaxxers.
  

• 
  May 16, 2015 8:53 pm
  

  It's Madness to Keep on Developing Nuclear Weapons, so Why Do We?

  by David P. Barash

  It's because our Stone Age brain finds it hard to think straight about weapons whose mass destruction we find it almost impossible to fathom.