Monday, March 16, 2009

book notes

Sex and War by Malcolm Potts and Thomas Hayden

8 percent of the men in Central Asia are decedents of Gengis Khan, according to Y chromosomes.

Militaries have always been organized around the concept that young men will fight and die only for a small group of comrades that they perceive as kin.

Chimps and humans both have a switch that allows them to see certain members of their species as not members of their species, making it easy and desirable to murder them

Arafat pacified the terrorist group Black September by offering it's members steady employment, a young bride, a tv, stove, and a 5K bonus for producing a baby.

Bonobos appear to have lost the instict for group aggression because they don't shAre the forest with gorillas south of the Congo and thus have a more stable food supply

Sir Frederick stopford

Osama was the only one of 17? Bin laden brothers not educateD in the west

"once we allow ourselves to dehumanize pour enemies we assume they will not behave like us. We are brave and being bombed unites us. they are cowards and bombing will force them to back down


Osama was the only bin Laden brother not educated in the West

All the.male controls on female sexuality started with settled agricultural societies because greater paternal investment in offspring was accompanied by greater concern about paternity