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A review by collegecate
Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live by Marlene Zuk
3.0
Things this book taught me: humans are not as homogeneous as we might seem. There are extensive regional/cultural difference in genes. So when they say "we've sequenced the human genome" that means they've recorded the genes of many individuals to get an idea of what's generally true about people. But there's a lot of variation. Also, there was no time that people were perfectly adapted because evolution and natural selection are ongoing; they do not have a finish line that we are striving for. In consequence, paleofantasies have no real basis. HOWEVER, I could wish that the author delved a little more into why we have these fantasies. Additionally, in an effort to through disprove the relevance of those fantasies, the author focuses on the extremists. I'm still a little curious about paelo-imaginations. Little things that seem logical at face value. My only other critique is that the chapters on food were just a hair too technical and I got lost in the jargon a few times. In contrast, the chapters on sex and family, which are the author's specialties, were much easier to grasp.