James Hrynyshyn is a freelance science journalist based in western North Carolina, where he tries to put degrees in marine biology and journalism to good use.
Perhaps it isn't fair to make fun of the social sciences, and I know behavioral ecology has its merits, but can you believe people get paid to study how men and women hook up? From New Scientist we learn that:
... a little bit of flirting - smiling, raising eyebrows, nodding - goes a long way towards attracting a woman, even outweighing the negative effects of some men's antisocial nature. "Antisocial men can make up a lot of ground just by being flirtatious," says psychologist Andrew Clark.Clark presented his findings at an Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour meeting hosted by Newcastle University earlier this month. There attendees learned of his shocking conclusion:
"I don't think women like bastards," Clark says. "I think antisocial men who behave flirtatiously are either fooling women into thinking they're not really so bad, or they're actually demonstrating that they're not so bad."
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Comments
I'm confused by their quote. Antisocial by definition means not wanting to engage in social activities. If you flirt, you aren't antisocial. If you are antisocial, you don't flirt. You can't really "fake" being social while retaining antisocial status.
Although I do agree, women probably don't like bastards :)
Posted by: Zachary Tong | September 27, 2007 12:13 PM
My wife claims that women like bastards because a compliment from one is a rare and special thing, while compliments from nice guys are a dime a dozen.
Posted by: Mitch Harden | September 28, 2007 6:32 PM
I thought it was a proven fact that women already love bastards and always have.
Posted by: RubyShooZ | October 1, 2007 2:04 PM