Beat Your Genes Podcast

In today's episode, Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk discuss the following listener questions: How do you square the notion that there is "no 1 mate" (or job, friend etc) with the jealousy/abuse/ stalking (and worse) that happens in relationships. What type of general education on this concept could be offered to attempt to mitigate such costly stone age behavior.  Related, can u talk about the treatment of battered women in your practice, how they do or don't escape?  Buss claims one contributing cause of such behavior is patriarchal culture and institutionalized male dominance.  Any truth to that or is this just genetic like everything else? I have a frenemy (that is, a friend who was really an enemy) who I’ve long lost touch with, but whom I still irresistibly stalk on social media. She was very competitive with me in college, although I drastically outperformed her at the time (I was the dux and she was upper-middling). Nevertheless, she went on to similar feats as me, getting her PhD from Yale (again, the same as me). I see her subtweeting things about me occasionally and I wonder why, after not being friends for so long, we both harbour a malevolent obsession about each other? What is the evolutionary good of this? Neither of us stands to gain anything from this and we’ve both achieved what we wanted, showing that it wasn’t the zero-sum game we might’ve thought during our early college years. She has become a tenure-track professor while I started a very successful company and am now a millionaire. Why do we ruminate so much about enemies/frenemies, and how can be finally move on from them? I was wondering what over population does to a society. I understand nothing is changing genetically but was curious how lived experiences differ between populated densely packed cities and villages/ towns. Is one better than the other for mental health?

In our 300th episode (actually episode 301, but we wanted to save it for Dr. Howk),  Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk take a break from solving listener problems and answering listener questions and instead turn towards answering some fun, personal questions.      

Upcoming seminar Sun, Feb 19:  True to Life Seminar - visit www.TrueToLife.us to register.    In this show, Dr. Lisle discusses: 1. I am still trying to figure out genetics and evolution (I wasn't taught it), so I might be way oversimplifying this. If you get a set of genes from your parents and they get a set of genes from each of their parents, wouldn't you be able to track a certain genetic trait as being from either one of your parents or one of their parents? 2. You have previously explained borderline personality.  Can we have a refresher on this, and do you have a better moniker it? 3. If you had to map out the very best way to get on the right track or stay on the right track for my health, What would be the best things for me to do? 4. My organization is constantly trying to access and improve 'group performance' and there are a variety of corporate tools marketed to optimize the effectiveness of work Teams. Is this bunk or does this have any relevance. More broadly, what do you think of "Organizational Psychology?" and does this relate? 5. My wife and I recently moved to a very exclusive neighbourhood. It’s a small, rich neighbourhood and we thought before we moved here that we would enjoy a lot of privacy and that people would keep to themselves. However, we have discovered to our horror hat we have extremely nosy, over-friendly, and slightly interfering neighbours. What can I do to enforce boundaries without falling out with them and potentially creating even bigger issues?

1. I am curious about an unpopular subject: systematic eugenics.  Has "random” selection in the mating market already produced the best possible human genes combinations? Could we generate humans with drastically higher IQ, strength, size, speed, athleticism, beauty, etc? What do you think is the hypothetical limit of human genetic potential for outlier individuals and for the average of a population?  This kind of discussion is often obscured by the obvious practical and ethical problems, rather than what it could theoretically achieve. 2.My husband's daughter is extremely disagreeable, low conscientiousness, low IQ, highly introverted, open to drugs and alcohol and unstable. She is in constant crisis and is constantly threatening suicide. My husband and I have really tried to be there for her and never miss a call, but her constant cries for attention are draining and have taken years off our lives. I don't want to discount anything that she is feeling but my and my husband's mental health are really suffering and we don't know what to do.  3.How do you respond to a child who has no recognition of their limitations? i.e. on the verge of being fired because they constantly call in "sick," show up late, don't do their job. Or the child who barely passed chemistry but says they are going to med school? Even if we say "That's great, but I understand med school is a lot of work" she gets mad and tells us and all her friends that we told her that she was a loser and a failure and because of us, she isn't going to med school anymore and instead she's stuck in a minimum wage job. Then she gets depressed at what might have been if we hadn't held her back. But if we say nothing, then she tries and fails (or fails to try) and becomes depressed and that somehow becomes our fault too.   Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast Host: Nathan Gershfeld                               Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D. Podcast website:  www.BeatYourGenes.org True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's episode, Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk discuss the following question: Given that depression is inherently demotivating (because it is failure feedback that tells you to stop what you're doing), how might one 'bootstrap' oneself into more positive, motivated mood states? I wonder what people in the Stone Age village would have done to bounce back from failure feedback; it makes most of us want to curl into a ball and die. How does depression actually end up benefiting and motivating us? Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast Host: Nathan Gershfeld                               Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D. Podcast website:  www.BeatYourGenes.org True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's show (episode 295), Dr. Lisle discusses the following questions: I am a 35 year old female and I don’t know what to do with my life. I have a bachelors degree in biochemistry and doctorate degree in pharmacy. I worked as a clinical pharmacist for a year but I got bored and I quit. Then I worked as a massage therapist, a real estate agent, and a dental hygienist. I got bored of these as well. They just didn’t satisfy me, even though I don’t even know what I’m looking for or what I want. My relationships are the same as my careers - casual at best with many different men. I really want to settle down in a career and relationship but I just seem unable to. What should I do? The euthanasia law changes in Canada to include mental illness as a valid reason seem deeply disturbing to me based on an evolutionary psychology perspective for people in the majority of situations. This would have been considered a "slippery slope" argument on euthanasia in the past, I cannot see how they are considered logical fallacies anymore at this point. What is your libertarian perspective on this issue given your wealth of knowledge within these areas? My son recently became disabled. If “finding yourself in good circumstances” is what leads to feelings of happiness, how will I ever feel happiness again? How could I ever feel “happiness” for him if everything about his life is now difficult and painful. These are not good circumstances. My pain and sadness for him and his future is indescribable. Can you discuss adrenaline rush and the people who seek it? especially with respect to free climbers.. i mean i get the status acquisition part but god are they crazy ?  I am curious about how homophobic sentiment arose in humans. Has it always been there? Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast Host: Nathan Gershfeld                               Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D. Podcast website:  www.BeatYourGenes.org True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In our final show of 2022, Dr. Howk and Dr. Lisle have a discussion about current events and the year to come.  For more information on their upcoming "True to Life" Seminar being held live & virtually on Feb 19th , please visit www.TruetoLife.us     Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast Host: Nathan Gershfeld                               Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D. Podcast website:  www.BeatYourGenes.org True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

Dr. Lisle & Dr. Howk are having a virtual seminar Sunday Feb 19, 2023.  Visit www.TrueToLife.us for details!  In today's episode, the Dr's discuss: Could you discuss cultural appropriation?  Especially with regards to not sporting wigs etc I for one really admire when people dress up like people from my culture and use the same hair and face accessories even though in the past we were under colonial rule and oppressed. Are men, now, in a world where women also make a lot of money, willing to sleep down if they themselves don't make much money? In episode 288, the Dr's talked about how one might stumble into a dream job - and exposed the dynamics that would have likely taken place. Could you help us get some idea of how young people in their 20s can increase the likelihood of stumbling into a good fit job. Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast Host: Nathan Gershfeld                               Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D. Podcast website:  www.BeatYourGenes.org True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

Announcements:    -On Feb 19, 2023, Dr. Lisle & Howk are doing a Live Seminar called the True to Life Series.   Registration link:  www.TrueToLife.us -Episodes 294 & 295 will be released in the coming weeks.    In today's show the dr's discuss:  Do people feel disgust for themselves when they are a minority in the village? Like you’ve said, disgust evolved not just out of a sense of right and wrong, but also out of infection and threat. So, my question is, do (racial, sexual, etc) minorities suffer because their internal audience will be in tune with the majority community's sense of disgust and/or threat around them? How important is it to have people who look, think, love, and are like you for your self esteem? What is the psychology behind interrupting people in conversation? I’ve read that we’re “wired to tie up loose ends” meaning that it feels good to tie up a thought that may get forgotten about or change as the conversation carries on. Also, do you think most people really listen to what we are saying or are they just waiting for their turn to speak? Can neuroplasticity be used to change personality ? or is it that the DNA remains the same thus the way new neurons or connections form is also predetermined ? Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast Host: Nathan Gershfeld                               Interviewee: Doug Lisle, Ph.D. and Jen Howk, Ph.D. Podcast website:  www.BeatYourGenes.org True to Life seminars with Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk : www.TrueToLife.us   Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones · Ferenc Hegedus

In today's show, Dr. Lisle and Dr. Howk discuss: How well does clinical evolutionary psychology explain and treat behavioural problems of children such as aggression or violence (often in cases even towards their own parents who have a reliable history of being loving and warm and not abusive). Any recommendations for literature/ reading sources/ books on psychology for people interested in dealing with aggressive kids? I have been told often that men retreat from their romantic partner emotionally when they are upset, is that a gender difference in coping mechanisms or is it just that men are inherently less invested in relationships than women? 1)what impact has women's education and empowerment had on gender dynamics? 2)if left to our primal instincts i.e. hypothetically if in a place where humans are born and there is no culture to begin with, would men be inseminating attractive women left right and centre forcefully/ by overpowering them (especially adolescent fertile girls) or is there now a genetic component of mutual consent seeking ?