Why sports and career really are matters of life and death.

[adriaan]

Why do men care more about sports and career then women? Sure women care too, but for many men it seems they can't live without it. Why do so many men watch and compete in sporting games every day? Why do they pursue earning money long after they have satified every basic need?

 

The reason lies in the requirements made by our ancient environment. We lived in small groups on the African savannah. Where women made a living from gathering fruits and vegetables. And where men brought in the meat through hunting. All though the lines wouldn't be all black and white, that was the general division.

 

Hunting is a team effort. Whether you drive small animals to your fellow hunters or you track and stone larger ones, you are better of with a few others. But you don't want to bring anyone along that can't pull his weight. Nobody wants to share the meat and glory with a slacker.

 

This means a man needs to earn his place on the best hunting party out there. That is what guarantees him and his family the most frequent supply of meat.

 

How do you get to go with the best team? Every playful contest you can do with other men in the group can serve to impress. Depending on the intended catch, there may be a place for a good runner, an experienced tracker, a expert thrower or a really strong guy.

 

The team nature and the skill diversity of hunting is the reason why men are so eager to compete in any game whenever they can. And why it is so much about impressing other men. It is the other men that decide who comes along with them and who doesn't. And when other men of your team compete, you better support them. When they win, the best young ones will want to be out on the hunt with you.

 

Competing in games against neighbouring groups may be a good pasttime nowadays. But the population density throughout evolution has been too low to consider that the reason behind playing games as much as males do. Of course women better take notice who ends up bringing in the meat, but they care about many more attributes.

 

It is your male brains that pushes you to accept any challenge. Playing games to show your ability lets everyone know where you can be useful in the hunt. Once your deserved place is secure, you can relax and the displays become few and far between.

 

In modern times, besides sports, making money is a competition for most men, whether they realise it or not. It shows their ranking in ability. But because of the increased group size the game has become without end. The status game that once showed how useful you could be to others in the hunt, is incompatible with our large group size. There is always a higher league to get into. There is always someone closely behind and above you.

 

And even though our social circle isn't bigger than it used to be, it has become much more homogeneous. The schooling system, the housing arrangements and our work floor have sorted us along the lines of our abilities. In response to the close competition, your brain tells you to step it up one more time and put in more effort displaying your strengths, or risk losing the precious meat you need for your family to survive.

 

In the modern world, males have become stuck in their display behaviour, exhausting themselves and their environment.

 

For a more complete explanation and some more ideas:

http://adriaanb.blogspot.com

[PhDP]

Sorry, but that's just mythology, or, if you prefer, an ad hoc fallacy. You don't provide any proof or any predictions, you've just created a semi-plausible story, some elements might be true, some are certainly not, but in the end, nothing is achieved.

 

This kind of thing annoys me much more than creationism.

[CaptainPanic]

Gotta admit that the subtitle of the story is "Some almost random thoughts."... (At least, if you click the link provided).

 

At least he's not claiming this is science.

[adriaan]

pseudoscience huh?

 

It's what you call an idea. Things tend to start with an idea.

 

I mean you can shove it aside on the basis that you don't see it. But then again, what do you see..

[iNow]

Just an idea, one which is waiting for supporting evidence and explanatory power before it can be taken seriously.

[PhDP]

This is completely unfair, you present an idea; It is a fact that you have no proofs, no evidences, no references, and then you basically say we're blind because we have doubts ?

 

Evolution, and science as a whole, is based on more than just your impression, it's not sufficient to get an idea that looks good, that looks credible, you need facts, predictions, data...

[adriaan]

This is a forum where you should be able to discuss ideas... not a compendium of everything true and proven. An idea on evolution should be in the section on evolution. People are smart enough to think whether it makes sense to them or not. Proving it is a later stage.

 

You shouldn't use the capacity of moderators here as a filter for ideas, because then it seems nothing worthwhile will make it through.

[iNow]

This is a forum where you should be able to discuss ideas...

That's exactly what it is. This doesn't mean, however, that your ideas can be outside of reality and without support.

[mooeypoo]

Actually, this is a SCIENCE forums.

 

Ideas are most welcome, but they must follow the scientific method. I can have a fantastical idea (from "fantasy", not from 'awesome') and this forum isn't quite the place for it.

 

Tht said, I think your idea is interesting. It lacks evidence, but you might be able to produce a better logical-trail for it so it eases our minds. Our request for proof and substantiation isn't meant to be personal against you, but rather to see if your idea is a fantasy-claim (meant for a fantasy-forum) or an idea that might actually have some merit, if developed.

 

~moo

[CaptainPanic]

adriaan,

 

It would help if you would just provide more background in stead of trying to change all the people who post on this forum. There are a lot of people with scientific backgrounds, and we all think in the same way: nothing wrong with funny ideas, but after you get an idea, it's time to test it and see if you can shoot holes in it... or better: proof it is true.

 

Since you already gave the idea in your 1st post, all that remains for us to do here is to see if we can shoot holes in your idea, or to prove it. Seems most of us find it easier to disprove it, and you're not helping in the defense of your own idea either.