Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry cover image

Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry

How to Play the Status Game - Geoffrey Miller | Maiden Mother Matriarch 66

Apr 3, 2024
Evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller discusses how consumerist culture affects fertility, status games in parenting, the challenges of the blank slate view of human nature, and the adaptive nature of self-deception. The extended discussion covers polyamory's elitist appeal and the debate on its normalization in society.
48:27

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Consumerist culture limits fertility by distracting individuals with status games and fitness cues over actual reproductive success.
  • Evolutionary resistance to modern distractions like technology may be found in certain human subcultures focusing on actual reproductive success.

Deep dives

Evolved Nervous Systems and Runaway Consumerism

Evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller discusses the concept of evolved nervous systems getting distracted by runaway consumerism like video games and entertainment technology, suggesting a potential explanation for Fermi's Paradox. He explains that as long as individuals are surrounded by cues of success and validation, they are prone to chasing fitness cues rather than focusing on actual reproductive success.

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