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somestuff's review
2.0
interesting short and sweet
i love comparative physiology for evolutionary studies so those portions of this were really fun but as with most pop science on evolution there was a bit too much focus on current day trends ignoring the vast cultural differences in our evolutionary ancestors as well as too much focus on people wanting to “support people with their genes” as if this is something early humans would have articulated. ignores the group social aspects of humans in favor of supporting each other for survival of everyone in the group to just wanting those with your genes to survive. And in this way also greatly ignores any homosexual/bisexual tendencies which in a book about why sex is fun should probably be addressed.
also doesn’t actually answer the question in the title. not that we cannot easily guess the reason for why evolutionarily sex is enjoyable but this has chapters devoted to male lactation and why humans have unknown estrous cycles seems like a bit more should have been included about the purpose of enjoyment of sex. And as for the estrous cycle question diamond ignores the evolutionary theory for why we could have developed this characteristic of humans having sex All the time bc it was enjoyable led to more offspring than a trackable easily seen estrous cycle like… interesting how throughout the book actual enjoyment of sex wasn’t ever brought up beyond a sentence in the chapter abt penis size. quite prude for a book about sex lmao. And in a book that actually does mention comparative physiology in production of offspring— it’s very rigid in descriptions of gender and sexuality. Like you’re discussing lizards that can change sex and frogs where children develop in the body of the ‘male’ frog like clearly there’s some breakdown in rigid mother/father descriptions that should be addressed here. Strange how it’s ignored.
i love comparative physiology for evolutionary studies so those portions of this were really fun but as with most pop science on evolution there was a bit too much focus on current day trends ignoring the vast cultural differences in our evolutionary ancestors as well as too much focus on people wanting to “support people with their genes” as if this is something early humans would have articulated. ignores the group social aspects of humans in favor of supporting each other for survival of everyone in the group to just wanting those with your genes to survive. And in this way also greatly ignores any homosexual/bisexual tendencies which in a book about why sex is fun should probably be addressed.
also doesn’t actually answer the question in the title. not that we cannot easily guess the reason for why evolutionarily sex is enjoyable but this has chapters devoted to male lactation and why humans have unknown estrous cycles seems like a bit more should have been included about the purpose of enjoyment of sex. And as for the estrous cycle question diamond ignores the evolutionary theory for why we could have developed this characteristic of humans having sex All the time bc it was enjoyable led to more offspring than a trackable easily seen estrous cycle like… interesting how throughout the book actual enjoyment of sex wasn’t ever brought up beyond a sentence in the chapter abt penis size. quite prude for a book about sex lmao. And in a book that actually does mention comparative physiology in production of offspring— it’s very rigid in descriptions of gender and sexuality. Like you’re discussing lizards that can change sex and frogs where children develop in the body of the ‘male’ frog like clearly there’s some breakdown in rigid mother/father descriptions that should be addressed here. Strange how it’s ignored.
7anooch's review
4.0
This isn’t really a book about sex, as much as it is about evolutionary biology and how human sexual activities have come to be the way they are (and how different they are from the rest of the animal kingdom). Interesting.
lmc168's review
3.0
Really 3.5 stars. The writing was occasionally dry and overly scientific, but overall this was very interesting.
krobcecil's review
3.0
Jared Diamond does not posses Carl Sagan's gift of enriching all he writes with a grand sense of poetic wonder; he also lacks the verve and wit of a science writer like Phil Plait. Diamond's books, however, are absolutely essential for those seeking to understand our universe and ourselves because he invariably chooses such fascinating topics. From the development of civilizations in his masterpiece GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL, to their potential decline in COLLAPSE, Diamond leaves one with a deeper understanding of humanity's essential questions. In this case "Why Is Sex Fun?"
Diamond first points out, then speculates the answers to the more rare and suspicious aspects of human sexuality: our tendency towards monogamy; recreational sex in general; concealed ovulation; menopause; men's attraction to big boobs, big butts...and big penises; and the use-ful/less-ness of men in general.
Oh, and male lactation.
THERE IS AN ENTIRE CHAPTER ON MALE LACTATION!!!
Jared Diamond won a Pulitzer Prize. He also wrote the sentence, "Lactation is not an infrequent result of nipple self-stimulation in teenage boys." I don't know which is the greater honor.
"Why Is Sex Fun" lacks the scope and depth of Diamond's other works, and leaves multiple questions untouched (most notably the evolution of homosexuality); however, it is a brief(>150 pages) and fascinating exploration on the how's and why's of fornication.
Diamond first points out, then speculates the answers to the more rare and suspicious aspects of human sexuality: our tendency towards monogamy; recreational sex in general; concealed ovulation; menopause; men's attraction to big boobs, big butts...and big penises; and the use-ful/less-ness of men in general.
Oh, and male lactation.
THERE IS AN ENTIRE CHAPTER ON MALE LACTATION!!!
Jared Diamond won a Pulitzer Prize. He also wrote the sentence, "Lactation is not an infrequent result of nipple self-stimulation in teenage boys." I don't know which is the greater honor.
"Why Is Sex Fun" lacks the scope and depth of Diamond's other works, and leaves multiple questions untouched (most notably the evolution of homosexuality); however, it is a brief(>150 pages) and fascinating exploration on the how's and why's of fornication.
vsttew's review against another edition
3.0
Sí, será difícil deshacernos de esos instintos animales, el libro es interesante, pero se queda sólo en eso.
teribrick14's review
5.0
Not only did I learn a lot of interesting information in this book, I have decided that I want to be the next Jared Diamond!
mick's review against another edition
1.0
DNF @30%. There was a lot of questionable material when the author was discussing pregnancy and lactation, and then I gave up when he got super bio essentialist in talking about chromosome abnormalities and it frankly got transphobic as there was no mention of queer or trans people at all. If there was a little later after I quit the book, it was clearly too little too late.
genia_sh95's review
3.0
3.5 stars
The book was interesting. However, I feel like the title was a "clickbait", make the readers buy the book. It was more about the evolution of sexual relations.
The book was interesting. However, I feel like the title was a "clickbait", make the readers buy the book. It was more about the evolution of sexual relations.