At once a pioneering study of evolution and an accessible and lively read, The
Mating Mind offers the most convincing -- and radical -- explanation to date
for how and why the human mind evolved. Traditionally, evolutionary theory has
explained intelligence as merely a by-product of surplus brain size. But
psychologist Geoffrey Miller argues that it actively evolved, like the
peacock´s tail, for courtship and mating, and thereby shaped human nature.
Certain traits are attractive because they indicate the overall fitness of a
potential mate. Miller maintains that both human sexes have evolved many
significant ways of displaying fitness via expressions of creative intelligence
such as storytelling, poetry, art, music, sports, dance, humor, kindness, and
leadership. In support of this provocative thesis, he has gathered evidence
from psychology, economics, history, pop culture, and Darwin´s theory of sexual
selection to present an utterly original synthesis of research.
