Cost-justifying that motorcycle jacket…
Nice guys knew it, now two studies have confirmed it: bad boys get the most girls. The finding may help explain why a nasty suite of antisocial personality traits known as the “dark triad” persists in the human population, despite their potentially grave cultural costs.
The traits are the self-obsession of narcissism; the impulsive, thrill-seeking and callous behaviour of psychopaths; and the deceitful and exploitative nature of Machiavellianism. At their extreme, these traits would be highly detrimental for life in traditional human societies. People with these personalities risk being shunned by others and shut out of relationships, leaving them without a mate, hungry and vulnerable to predators.
But being just slightly evil could have an upside: a prolific sex life, says Peter Jonason at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. “We have some evidence that the three traits are really the same thing and may represent a successful evolutionary strategy.”
The full New Scientist piece is here; read it and… weep? reap?
As we grease our hair, we might swivel our hips in birthday tribute to Andre van Kuijk, born this date in 1909 in Breda, in southern Holland. Better known as Colonel Tom Parker, he managed Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow before taking over the career of Elvis Presley in 1956, which he guided until its end.
Don’t try to explain it, just sell it.
-Colonel Tom Parker (Andre van Kuijk)
