Book Review: Sex, Genes & Rock’n'Roll

This book by evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks is another in the rapidly growing genre that seeks to take the arcane world of evolutionary science and package it in a manner that makes it more accessible for the general reader. It has the obligatory catchy title, though I suspect that Sex, Burgers and Rock’n’Roll must also have been considered as the core themes explored in the book are indeed sex, food and rock music. In his closing remarks, Brooks comments that he is fortunate to do this kind of work (and write this kind of book) because the questions it explores are fundamentally interesting. This is also a very good reason why you should read it.

The discussion on food reviews our evolved preferences for sweet, sugary foods and it modern day maladaptive result, namely, obesity. By combining an understanding of both our innate biology and the environmental forces in operation at particular points in time, we glean an understanding of how obesity levels have rocketed in certain parts of the world such as the Pacific Islands while remaining relatively low in other areas like Scandinavia and South East Asia. The case for restricting or taxing foods high in sugar content such as soft drinks becomes ever more compelling. The ability of species to thrash their environments is the next theme taken up by the book which is interesting in that we have a tendency to think of this as a purely human phenomenon. While population growth threatens the sustainability of the planet, the power of education and wealth to depress fertility rates may offer us a way out of that particular cul de sac. However, population is one thing and consumption is another, though dealing with both the evolutionary explanations of consumption and how it might be reduced is another book in itself.

Reproduction and the propagation of the species are of course core evolutionary themes and Brooks takes us through a tour of interesting issues such as love, lust, martial cooperation and polygamy. We behave like birds (flashy displays) rather than other mammals (fights) in order to attract mates. Species where the males have to work harder are likely to result in longer pair bonds and less promiscuity (interesting!). And the preferences of populations in some parts of the world to favour boys over girls means that the gender imbalance is likely to lead to an increase in group oriented male violence. Themes of love and sex also pervade the discussion on rock music – a topic that is clearly a passion of the author. Music is inextricably linked with courtship and musical preferences are an effective mechanism for demonstrating personality traits. Why are rock musicians primarily male? Because males in the 1960s seized on it as a means of winning respect and status among peers (and attracting mates) in the same way as the gangsta rap artists do today.

And this in some ways is both the appeal and the power of evolutionary theory. Irrespective of the geography, the environment or the epoch, the fundamental motives of survival, reproduction and cooperation exist, all that varies is how they are manifest.

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