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From: A.S.Chamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,alt.romance,soc.men,soc.women,soc.singles
Subject: Re: Are Humans Naturally Monogamous?
Message-ID: <1990Nov26.005512.16483@massey.ac.nz>
Date: 26 Nov 90 00:55:12 GMT
References: <1990Oct24.175532.9407@pmafire.UUCP> <1990Nov8.205905.1627@oracle.com> <16791@netcom.UUCP> <59261@microsoft.UUCP>
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Rod

You say (about drinking alcohol) that
1--there is no sane reason for it
2--that it does nothing to promote survival
3--ideally no one would do it

The interesting thing about alcohol drinking is 
1-that it is so universally performed
2-that so many sane people do it.

It has a lot of calories which are desirable in less-affluent countries.
It makes people feel good.
It is relaxing.
It seems to have unspecified "beneficial" social properties.

It seems to me that people behave very sanely, and insane or irrational
behaviour is quite rare.  OF course there is a lot of behaviour that
OTHERS do that does not act in our interest (someone drinking and then
driving; someone making millions for themselves by cutting down the
rainforest; someone trying to improve their scientific career by
introducing African bees to South America).  I wonder if we understood
behaviour rather more, if we could understand the reason/rationalle for
even people who appear to go berzerk and kill several others apparently
without cause.

-- 
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Arnold Chamove
Massey University Psychology
Palmerston North, New Zealand