Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language

Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language

Author: Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780674363366

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Here, the author examines gossip as a form of 'verbal grooming', and as a means of strengthening relationships. He challenges the idea that language developed during male activities such as hunting, and that it was actually amongst women that it evolved.


Book Synopsis Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language by : Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar

Download or read book Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language written by Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here, the author examines gossip as a form of 'verbal grooming', and as a means of strengthening relationships. He challenges the idea that language developed during male activities such as hunting, and that it was actually amongst women that it evolved.


Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language

Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language

Author: Robin Dunbar

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2011-04-07

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0571265189

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Did mankind evolve unusually large brains simply in order to gossip? Primates differ from other animals by the intensity of their social relationships, by the amount of time they spend grooming one another. Not just a matter of hygiene, grooming is all about cementing bonds, making friends and influencing your fellow ape. Early humans, in their characteristic large groups of 150 or so, would have had to spend almost half their time in mutual grooming. Instead, Professor Robin Dunbar argues, they evolved a more efficient mechanism: language. It seems there is nothing idle about idle chatter. Having a good gossip ensures that a dynamic group - of hunter-gatherers, soldiers, workmates - remains cohesive.Men and women 'gossip' equally, but men tend to talk about themselves, while women talk more about other people, working to strengthen the female-female relationships that underpin both human and primate societies. Until now, most anthropologists have assumed that language developed in male-male relationships, during activities such as hunting. Dunbar's intriguing research suggests that, to the contrary, language evolved among women.


Book Synopsis Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language by : Robin Dunbar

Download or read book Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language written by Robin Dunbar and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2011-04-07 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did mankind evolve unusually large brains simply in order to gossip? Primates differ from other animals by the intensity of their social relationships, by the amount of time they spend grooming one another. Not just a matter of hygiene, grooming is all about cementing bonds, making friends and influencing your fellow ape. Early humans, in their characteristic large groups of 150 or so, would have had to spend almost half their time in mutual grooming. Instead, Professor Robin Dunbar argues, they evolved a more efficient mechanism: language. It seems there is nothing idle about idle chatter. Having a good gossip ensures that a dynamic group - of hunter-gatherers, soldiers, workmates - remains cohesive.Men and women 'gossip' equally, but men tend to talk about themselves, while women talk more about other people, working to strengthen the female-female relationships that underpin both human and primate societies. Until now, most anthropologists have assumed that language developed in male-male relationships, during activities such as hunting. Dunbar's intriguing research suggests that, to the contrary, language evolved among women.


Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language

Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language

Author: Robin Dunbar

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 9780571173976

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Did mankind evolve unusually large brains simply in order to gossip? Primates differ from other animals by the intensity of their social relationships, by the amount of time they spend grooming one another. Not just a matter of hygiene, grooming is all about cementing bonds, making friends and influencing your fellow ape. Early humans, in their characteristic large groups of 150 or so, would have had to spend almost half their time in mutual grooming. Instead, Professor Robin Dunbar argues, they evolved a more efficient mechanism: language. It seems there is nothing idle about idle chatter. Having a good gossip ensures that a dynamic group - of hunter-gatherers, soldiers, workmates - remains cohesive. Men and women 'gossip' equally, but men tend to talk about themselves, while women talk more about other people, working to strengthen the female-female relationships that underpin both human and primate societies. Until now, most anthropologists have assumed that language developed in male-male relationships, during activities such as hunting. Dunbar's intriguing research suggests that, to the contrary, language evolved among women.


Book Synopsis Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language by : Robin Dunbar

Download or read book Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language written by Robin Dunbar and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did mankind evolve unusually large brains simply in order to gossip? Primates differ from other animals by the intensity of their social relationships, by the amount of time they spend grooming one another. Not just a matter of hygiene, grooming is all about cementing bonds, making friends and influencing your fellow ape. Early humans, in their characteristic large groups of 150 or so, would have had to spend almost half their time in mutual grooming. Instead, Professor Robin Dunbar argues, they evolved a more efficient mechanism: language. It seems there is nothing idle about idle chatter. Having a good gossip ensures that a dynamic group - of hunter-gatherers, soldiers, workmates - remains cohesive. Men and women 'gossip' equally, but men tend to talk about themselves, while women talk more about other people, working to strengthen the female-female relationships that underpin both human and primate societies. Until now, most anthropologists have assumed that language developed in male-male relationships, during activities such as hunting. Dunbar's intriguing research suggests that, to the contrary, language evolved among women.


Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language

Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language

Author: Robin Dunbar

Publisher:

Published: 1900

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language by : Robin Dunbar

Download or read book Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language written by Robin Dunbar and published by . This book was released on 1900 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


How Many Friends Does One Person Need?

How Many Friends Does One Person Need?

Author: Robin Dunbar

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2011-03-15

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 0674059328

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Why do men talk and women gossip, and which is better for you? Why is monogamy a drain on the brain? And why should you be suspicious of someone who has more than 150 friends on Facebook? We are the product of our evolutionary history, and this history colors our everyday lives—from why we joke to the depth of our religious beliefs. In How Many Friends Does One Person Need? Robin Dunbar uses groundbreaking experiments that have forever changed the way evolutionary biologists explain how the distant past underpins our current behavior. We know so much more now than Darwin ever did, but the core of modern evolutionary theory lies firmly in Darwin’s elegantly simple idea: organisms behave in ways that enhance the frequency with which genes are passed on to future generations. This idea is at the heart of Dunbar’s book, which seeks to explain why humans behave as they do. Stimulating, provocative, and immensely enjoyable, his book invites you to explore the number of friends you have, whether you have your father’s brain or your mother’s, whether morning sickness might actually be good for you, why Barack Obama’s 2008 victory was a foregone conclusion, what Gaelic has to do with frankincense, and why we laugh. In the process, Dunbar examines the role of religion in human evolution, the fact that most of us have unexpectedly famous ancestors, and why men and women never seem able to see eye to eye on color.


Book Synopsis How Many Friends Does One Person Need? by : Robin Dunbar

Download or read book How Many Friends Does One Person Need? written by Robin Dunbar and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do men talk and women gossip, and which is better for you? Why is monogamy a drain on the brain? And why should you be suspicious of someone who has more than 150 friends on Facebook? We are the product of our evolutionary history, and this history colors our everyday lives—from why we joke to the depth of our religious beliefs. In How Many Friends Does One Person Need? Robin Dunbar uses groundbreaking experiments that have forever changed the way evolutionary biologists explain how the distant past underpins our current behavior. We know so much more now than Darwin ever did, but the core of modern evolutionary theory lies firmly in Darwin’s elegantly simple idea: organisms behave in ways that enhance the frequency with which genes are passed on to future generations. This idea is at the heart of Dunbar’s book, which seeks to explain why humans behave as they do. Stimulating, provocative, and immensely enjoyable, his book invites you to explore the number of friends you have, whether you have your father’s brain or your mother’s, whether morning sickness might actually be good for you, why Barack Obama’s 2008 victory was a foregone conclusion, what Gaelic has to do with frankincense, and why we laugh. In the process, Dunbar examines the role of religion in human evolution, the fact that most of us have unexpectedly famous ancestors, and why men and women never seem able to see eye to eye on color.


Human Evolution

Human Evolution

Author: Robin Dunbar

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0141975326

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What makes us human? How did we develop language, thought and culture? Why did we survive, and other human species fail? The past 12,000 years represent the only time in the sweep of human history when there has been only one human species. How did this extraordinary proliferation of species come about - and then go extinct? And why did we emerge such intellectual giants? The tale of our origins has inevitably been told through the 'stones and bones' of the archaeological record, yet Robin Dunbar shows it was our social and cognitive changes rather than our physical development which truly made us distinct from other species.


Book Synopsis Human Evolution by : Robin Dunbar

Download or read book Human Evolution written by Robin Dunbar and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes us human? How did we develop language, thought and culture? Why did we survive, and other human species fail? The past 12,000 years represent the only time in the sweep of human history when there has been only one human species. How did this extraordinary proliferation of species come about - and then go extinct? And why did we emerge such intellectual giants? The tale of our origins has inevitably been told through the 'stones and bones' of the archaeological record, yet Robin Dunbar shows it was our social and cognitive changes rather than our physical development which truly made us distinct from other species.


A Culture of Play

A Culture of Play

Author: Brad Fortier

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2012-12-24

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 1300608528

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Improvised Theatre as a form of performance has blanketed the globe. From New York City to Hong Kong to Mumbai, there are performers who share a common philosophy and vocabulary of action that allows them to create stories and relationships that move and entertain people. In this book of essays, Fortier explores this art as a tool for reflection, a means of cross-cultural communication, and a window into a way of being that may be our key to survival as a species. Fortier's interdisciplinary approach to the subject brings together the fields of anthropology, performance, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience to help expand the view of improvised theater beyond trite games into a grass-roots form of social rebooting. These essays are relevant to anyone who is curious about new approaches to personal, professional, and group development. This book may also be the beginning of the conversation on how we can transform away from disparate cultures of fear to a more unified Culture of Play.


Book Synopsis A Culture of Play by : Brad Fortier

Download or read book A Culture of Play written by Brad Fortier and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-12-24 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improvised Theatre as a form of performance has blanketed the globe. From New York City to Hong Kong to Mumbai, there are performers who share a common philosophy and vocabulary of action that allows them to create stories and relationships that move and entertain people. In this book of essays, Fortier explores this art as a tool for reflection, a means of cross-cultural communication, and a window into a way of being that may be our key to survival as a species. Fortier's interdisciplinary approach to the subject brings together the fields of anthropology, performance, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience to help expand the view of improvised theater beyond trite games into a grass-roots form of social rebooting. These essays are relevant to anyone who is curious about new approaches to personal, professional, and group development. This book may also be the beginning of the conversation on how we can transform away from disparate cultures of fear to a more unified Culture of Play.


The Trouble with Science

The Trouble with Science

Author: Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 9780674910195

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Robin Dunbar asks whether science really is unique to Western culture, even to humankind. He suggests that our "trouble with science" may lie in the fact that evolution has left our minds better able to cope with day-to-day social interaction than with the complexities of the external world.


Book Synopsis The Trouble with Science by : Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar

Download or read book The Trouble with Science written by Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robin Dunbar asks whether science really is unique to Western culture, even to humankind. He suggests that our "trouble with science" may lie in the fact that evolution has left our minds better able to cope with day-to-day social interaction than with the complexities of the external world.


The Human Story

The Human Story

Author: Robin Dunbar

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2011-02-03

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0571265200

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A fascinating account of the latest thinking on human evolution, by 'one of the most respected evolutionary psychologists in Britain'.For scientists studying evolution, the past decade has seen astonishing advances across many disciplines - discoveries which have revolutionised scientific thinking and turned upside down our understanding of who we are. The Human Story brings together these threads of research in genetics, behaviour and psychology to provide an understanding of just what it is that makes us human. Robin Dunbar looks in particular at how the human mind has evolved, and draws on his own research during the last five years into the deep psychological and biological bases of music and religion.


Book Synopsis The Human Story by : Robin Dunbar

Download or read book The Human Story written by Robin Dunbar and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2011-02-03 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating account of the latest thinking on human evolution, by 'one of the most respected evolutionary psychologists in Britain'.For scientists studying evolution, the past decade has seen astonishing advances across many disciplines - discoveries which have revolutionised scientific thinking and turned upside down our understanding of who we are. The Human Story brings together these threads of research in genetics, behaviour and psychology to provide an understanding of just what it is that makes us human. Robin Dunbar looks in particular at how the human mind has evolved, and draws on his own research during the last five years into the deep psychological and biological bases of music and religion.


Friends

Friends

Author: Robin Dunbar

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Published: 2021-03-04

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1408711729

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'Fascinating...In essence, the number and quality of our friendships may have a bigger influence on our happiness, health and mortality risk than anything else in life save for giving up smoking' Guardian, Book of the Day Friends matter to us, and they matter more than we think. The single most surprising fact to emerge out of the medical literature over the last decade or so has been that the number and quality of the friendships we have has a bigger influence on our happiness, health and even mortality risk than anything else except giving up smoking. Robin Dunbar is the world-renowned psychologist and author who famously discovered Dunbar's number: how our capacity for friendship is limited to around 150 people. In Friends, he looks at friendship in the round, at the way different types of friendship and family relationships intersect, or at the complex of psychological and behavioural mechanisms that underpin friendships and make them possible - and just how complicated the business of making and keeping friends actually is. Mixing insights from scientific research with first person experiences and culture, Friends explores and integrates knowledge from disciplines ranging from psychology and anthropology to neuroscience and genetics in a single magical weave that allows us to peer into the incredible complexity of the social world in which we are all so deeply embedded. Working at the coalface of the subject at both research and personal levels, Robin Dunbar has written the definitive book on how and why we are friends.


Book Synopsis Friends by : Robin Dunbar

Download or read book Friends written by Robin Dunbar and published by Little, Brown Book Group. This book was released on 2021-03-04 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Fascinating...In essence, the number and quality of our friendships may have a bigger influence on our happiness, health and mortality risk than anything else in life save for giving up smoking' Guardian, Book of the Day Friends matter to us, and they matter more than we think. The single most surprising fact to emerge out of the medical literature over the last decade or so has been that the number and quality of the friendships we have has a bigger influence on our happiness, health and even mortality risk than anything else except giving up smoking. Robin Dunbar is the world-renowned psychologist and author who famously discovered Dunbar's number: how our capacity for friendship is limited to around 150 people. In Friends, he looks at friendship in the round, at the way different types of friendship and family relationships intersect, or at the complex of psychological and behavioural mechanisms that underpin friendships and make them possible - and just how complicated the business of making and keeping friends actually is. Mixing insights from scientific research with first person experiences and culture, Friends explores and integrates knowledge from disciplines ranging from psychology and anthropology to neuroscience and genetics in a single magical weave that allows us to peer into the incredible complexity of the social world in which we are all so deeply embedded. Working at the coalface of the subject at both research and personal levels, Robin Dunbar has written the definitive book on how and why we are friends.