Summary of Emily Jane Willingham Ph.D.'s Phallacy

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The idea that fittest means having most power has taken root in some byways of evolution research, which emphasizes winning more than fitting. This focus on winning as an interpretation of evolutionary fitness means that evolutionary psychology itself becomes a philosophy for winners. #2 The idea that ovulation is a sexual trap is based on the assumption that humans are monogamous, but research shows that about a 1 percent of children are born from extra-pair liaisons. #3 The stripper study was conducted to see if women who work at a strip club earn more money when they are ovulating. The researchers found that the women who were not on hormonal birth control had their lowest tip levels during their bleeding days, peaks during the time leading up to the estrogen spike that triggers ovulation, and then edging up again in the days after ovulation. #4 The authors concluded that tip fluctuations were due to the men detecting the women’s estrus, which motivated them to tip more. But women are so coy about their ovulation that if their steady fellow busts them, they’ll have plausible deniability.