Introduction: Our toughest battles are with ourselves
2 The "call is coming from inside the house" story was made into the 1979 movie, "When a Stranger Calls".
3 The official U.S. Government Human Genome Project website: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/
3

Excellent books on the modern Darwinian revolution include:

Dawkins, Richard. 1976. The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press.

Pinker, Steven. 1997. How the Mind Works. Norton.

Wilson, Edward Osborne. 1978. On Human Nature. Harvard University Press.

Wright, Robert. 1994. The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life. Pantheon Books.

For the more academically minded:

Hamilton, William D. 1964. "The Genetical Evolution of Social Behavior I and II." Journal of Theoretical Biology 7: 1-16, 17-52.

Trivers, Robert. 1971. "The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism." Quarterly Review of Biology 46(4): 35-57.

Barkow, Jerome H., Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, Eds. 1992. The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture. Oxford University Press.

Daly, Martin and Margo Wilson. 1983. Sex, Evolution, and Behavior. Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Krebs and Davies. 1993. An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology, 3rd edition. Blackwell Scientific Publications.

Wilson, Edward Osborne. 1975. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
3 The characteristics that are universally attractive include, but are not limited to, physical health, clear skin, and symmetry (right & left side of the body having the same proportions). One additional universal feature of sexual attraction is an aversion towards close genetic relatives. See the notes to the beauty chapter (pp 153-172) for detailed references on beauty universals.
4

Numerous studies have demonstrated that more symmetrical people are considered more attractive by others. See, for example: Perrett, D.I., D. Burt, D.M., I.S. Penton-Voak, K.J. Lee, D.A. Rowland, and R. Edwards. 1999. "Symmetry and human facial attractiveness." Evolution and Human Behavior 20:295-307. They found that, for males and females, when computer images were manipulated to increase the symmetry of the fac, the ratings of attractiveness also increased.

A related study, looking at men, also found that physical attractiveness was significantly correlated with symmetry. Interestingly, they also found that it wasn't even necessary to measure the symmetry of the man's face. In other words, men with asymmetrical fingers, feet, wrists, and elbows, have less attractive faces than men in whom these structures are more symmetrical. The data are in: Gangestad, S.W., R. Thornhill and R.A. Yeo. 1994. "Facial attractiveness, developmental stability, and fluctuating asymmetry." Ethology and Sociobiology 15:73-85.

And finally, Mealey et al. did an interesting study of twins, in which symmetry and attractiveness were measured in each. As would have been predicted by the studies cited above, the more symmetrical of the twins were rated as significantly more attractive than their less symmetrical co-twin. The study is in: Mealey L., R. Bridgstock, and G.C. Townsend. 1999. "Symmetry and perceived facial attractiveness: A monozygotic co-twin comparison." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76:151-158.

4 Evidence that we not only find symmetrical people more attractive but that we also prefer them as sexual partners is presented in: Thornhill, R. and S.W. Gangestad. 1994. "Human fluctuating asymmetry and sexual behavior." Physiological Science 5:297-302. This study of male college students found that more symmetrical men had had more lovers over the course of their lifetime and that they had lost their virginity at an earlier age.
4 It's clear where all of the studies above are pointing and, indeed, one study showed it to be true that women whose partners were more symmetrical reported more orgasms during sex than did women with less symmetrical partners. The study is: Thornhill, R., S.W. Gangestad, and R. Comer. 1995. "Human female orgasm and mate fluctuating asymmetry." Animal Behavior 50:1601-1615.
4

An important review that covered an impressively broad array of animal species (including both vertebrates and invertebrates), documented a consistent relationship between symmetry and nearly every important component of fitness, including: parasitism, fecundity, growth rate, survival, and metabolic efficiency. The study is Thornhill, R. and A.P. Moller. 1997. "Developmental stability, disease, and medicine." Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 72:497-548.

For example: barn swallows showed increased asymmetry following infection with a parasitic mite, reindeer treated with an anti-parasite medication during antler development had more symmetrical antlers, and fruit flies infected with nematode parasites during development become less symmetrical as adults. These data are presented in: Moller, A.P. 1992. "Parasites differentially increase the degree of fluctuating asymmetry in secondary sexual characters.ƒ Journal of Evolutionary Biology 5:691-699, (barn swallows); Folstad, I., P. Arneberg, and A.J. Karter. 1996. "Antlers and parasites." Oecologia 105:556-558, (reindeer); and Polak, M. 1993. "Parasites increase fluctuating asymmetry of male Drosophila nigrospiracula: implications for sexual selection." Genetica 89:255-265, (fruit flies).

In the studies cited above, it's not clear whether the causal link between parasites and symmetry is one way or two. In and interesting study in house flies, individuals that were more asymmetric proved to be susceptible to infection when exposed to a fungus. The study is in: Moller, A.P. 1995. "Sexual selection, viability selection and developmental stability in the domestic fly, Musca domestica." Evolution 50:746-752.

5 Oprah really does have 7 Emmy awards. Moreover, her show has won 32 Emmys. A nice recounting of her triumphs can be found at: http://www.oprah.com/about/ostory/about_ostory_herjourney.html
7 For a recent summary of the research on fertility see Ellison, Peter T. 2001. On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press.
7

An excellent study demonstrating the dramatic decrease in fertility that results from moderate weight loss is: Lager C. and P.T. Ellison. 1990. "Effect of moderate weight loss on ovarian function assessed by salivary progesterone measurements." American Journal of Human Biology 2:303-12. In this study, the same subjects were followed over multiple months and it turned out that women who were not dieting ovulated during every one of their cycles, while dieters, on the other hand, (who were losing weight at a rate of about four pounds per month) failed to ovulate in about 40% of their cycles.
7 An interesting and carefully-controlled study of the effects of moderate exercise on fertility showed that women running about 12 miles per week had significantly reduced progesterone levels that indicated in one-third of their cycles that no ovulation occurred. This study is: Ellison P.T. and C. Lager. 1986. "Moderate recreational running is associated with lowered salivary progesterone profiles in women." American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 154:1000-1003.
8

Excellent monographs exist for a number of non-industrialized cultures. Included among those referenced throughout Mean Genes are:

The !Kung San of the Khalahari -- See Shostak, Margorie. 1981. Nisa, the life and words of a !Kung woman. Harvard University Press. and Lee, Richard. 1993, 2nd ed. The Dobe Ju/'hoansi. Harcourt Brace.
The Ache of South America -- See Hill, Kim and Magdelena Hurtado. 1996. Ache Life History: The Ecology and Demography of a Foraging People. Aline De Gruyter.
The Sambia of Papua New Guinea -- See Herdt, Gilbert. 1987. The Sambia. Ritual and Gender in New Guinea. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
The Yanomamo of South America -- Chagnon, Napoleon. 1992. Yanomamo, 4th edition. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
8 Darwin's classic is still a great read, Darwin, Charles. 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. John Murray.
8

Prominent opponents to the use of genetic evolution and biology for understanding human behavior include Stephen J. Gould and Richard Lewontin. See their classic article: Gould, S. J. and R.C. Lewontin. 1979. "The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Program: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 205: 581-588.

9 von Dornum, Miranda. 1997. DNA sequence data from mitochondrial COII and nuclear G6PD loci and a molecular phylogeny of the New World monkeys (Primates, Platyrrhini) / Ph.D. thesis. Harvard University. Available in Harvard archives -- HU 90.14582.11
9

Hirao, A., Y. Kong, S. Matsuoka, A. Wakeman, et al. 2000. "DNA Damage-Induced Activation of p53 by the Checkpoint Kinase Chk2." Science 287(5449): 1824-7.

 

Debt: Laughing all the way to the Darwinian bank
15
A study of people's saving desires and behavior is, Bernheim, Douglass. April 1995. "Do Households Appreciate Their Financial Vulnerabilities?" An Analysis of Actions, Perceptions, and Public Policy, in Tax Policy and Economic Growth, American Council for Capital Formation, Center for Policy Research.
15

U.S. Savings rate (data from Department of Commerce, Graph from Wall Street Journal)

 
15

U.S. personal Bankruptcy filings (from Wall Street Journal)
16

Nut caching in European red squirrels, Wauters, L.A. and P. Casale. 1996. "Long-term scatterhoarding by Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris)." J. Zool., Lond., 238: 195-207.

Red Squirrel

From the above paper, page 201: "In the deciduous woodland (of Belgium), 2200 cached food items were recovered of the 2800 estimated hoards (79%). Squirrels consumed 99% of cached cones, 62% of cached acorns and 92% of cached beechnuts."

 
17

A comprehensive review of animals that save via means other than body fat is, Vander Wall, S. B. 1990. Food Hoarding in Animals. University of Chicago Press.

See page 240, for instance: "Red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudonicus), common inhabitants of coniferous forests throughout much of North America, and the closely related Douglas squirrel (T. douglasii) of the Pacific Northwest are among the most thoroughly studied of food-hoarding mammals . . . Red squirrels begin collecting and storing cones in late July or early August and continue for 4-8 weeks … Clarke (1939) estimated that red squirrels can collect and store about 1,000 red pine (Pinus resinosa) cones in a day, but they clip and store the large cones of limber pine (P. flexilis) at rates of only about twenty-nine to thirty-two cones per day (Benkman, Balda, and Smith 1984). … Middens usually contain 2-4 bushels (70-141) of cones, but instances of 8-15 bushels (282-528 l) being taken by cone collectors have been reported (Cox 1911; Korstian and Baker 1925; Yeager 1937; Baldwin 1942). M.C. Smith (1968) estimated that red squirrels stored between 12,000 and 16,000 white spruce (Picea glauca) cones in a 6-week harvest period in interior Alaska. Gurnell (1984) found a mean of 2,187 lodgepole pine cones in nine middens (range = 280-4,360 cones per midden). . ."

"Besides cones, red squirrels store various nuts, seeds, fruits, and some meat. Nuts stored include walnuts, hickory nuts (Layne 1954), chestnuts (Audobon and Bachman 1846, cited by Hatt 1929), beechnuts (Klugh 1927), and hazelnuts (Mailliard 1931). … Burton (1930) attributed to red squirrels accumulations of boxelder (Acer negundo) samaras found at the bases of trees, in hollow trunks, and in the crotches of tree branches. One of these caches contained more than a bushel (35 l) of seeds."
17

The original story of the grasshopper and ant was written by Aesop. It reads,

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."

"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

17

!Kung San life in the 1960's is described in, Lee, Richard. 1993, 2nd ed. The Dobe Ju/'hoansi. Harcourt Brace.
18

Elephant Seals eating, saving, and mating behavior from, LeBoeuf, B.J. and R.M Laws. 1994. Elephant Seals. University of California Press.

Page 162, table 9.4 "Standard length, measured growth rate, and relative growth rate."

Males are considered fully-adult when they're about 9 years old.

Age Length (in cm) Length expressed in feet
1
 182.9 ± 3.3 6.00
2
 207.4 ± 2.4 6.80
3
 232.7 ± 3.3 7.63
4
 272.6 ± 5.7 8.94
5
 304.7 ± 4.5 10.00
6
 334.2 ± 2.9 10.96
7
 356.7 ± 3.0 11.70
8
 370.5 ± 3.9 12.15
9
 390.6 ± 4.1 12.81
10
 394.8 ± 5.7 12.94
11
 395.4 ± 10.7 12.96
12
 397.2 ± 3.6 13.02
13
 395.7 ± 3.0 12.97

"Females fast while lactating [and lose up to 700 lbs], and the largest breeding males fast for more than one hundred days during the breeding season." -- p. xi

for males:

arrival [at beach] mean body mass: 1,430 - 2,265 kg

departure [at end of breeding season]: 895 - 1,500 kg

"Taking an extreme case, if a 3000-kg male loses 1000 kg while ashore. . ." -- p. 370, LeBoeuf and Laws, 1994.

N Body Mass (kg) kg loss per day % body mass loss per day kg loss per season % body mass loss per season duration of stay (days)
Males 13 1704 ± 213 7.1 ± 1.5 0.41 ± 0.06 622 ± 172 36.2 ± 6.6 91 ± 15
Females 22 489 ± 64 7.2 ± 1.0 1.48 ± 0.11 180 ± 30 36.8 ± 2.8 25 ± 2

 
18

LeBoeuf and Laws (cited above), Elephant Seals, Univ Cal Press, Berkeley LA London. 1994:

p. xi ". . . the largest breeding males fast for more than one hundred days during the breeding season."
18 http://www.cadillac.com/eldorado/index.htm gives the weight of a new Eldorado as between 3825lbs and 3856lbs. No length is given, although some of the other models can be around 16 feet long at maturity.
19

Bobby Sands's diary: http://larkspirit.com/hungerstrikes/diary.html

10/27/80: 1st hunger strike by the IRA "blanketmen," lasted for 53 days. There were no deaths. (Bobby Sands did not participate).

3/1/81: 2nd IRA hunger strike: "Having consumed only water and salt for his last 66 days, Bobby Sands died at the door of the British government on 5 May 1981."
20 The Border, 1982. Directed by Tony Richardson. Written by David Freeman, Walon Green, and Deric Washburn.
22

Discussion of the role of social security in alleviating poverty among the elderly, http://www.ssa.gov/history/early.html

"Following the outbreak of the Great Depression, poverty among the elderly grew dramatically. The best estimates are that in 1934 over half of the elderly in America lacked sufficient income to be self-supporting. Despite this, state welfare pensions for the elderly were practically non-existent before 1930. A spurt of pension legislation was passed in the years immediately prior to passage of the Social Security Act, so that 30 states had some form of old-age pension program by 1935. However, these programs were generally inadequate and ineffective. Only about 3% of the elderly were actually receiving benefits under these states plans, and the average benefit amount was about 65 cents a day."
23

Retirees in the U.S. have very little in the way of liquid financial assets, Poterba, James M. 1996. Personal Saving Behavior and Retirement Income Modeling: A research Assessment. in Eric A. Hanushek and Nancy L. Maritato, eds., Assessing Knowledge of Retirement Behavior: Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (CBSSE). 

        Median Financial assets for U.S Household head age 55-64

        -------------------------------------------------------

          $8,300 Total financial assets

        $36,000 Home equity

          $8,200 Other property
23

Those famous Calvin Klein ads.
24 Stanley, Thomas J. and William D. Danko. 1996. The Millionaire Next Door. Pocket Books.
24

Our instinctual fears are discussed in, Kellert, Stephen and E. O. Wilson, Eds. 1995. The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press.

"The human inclination to fear and avoid threatening aspects of nature has been particularly associated with reptiles such as snakes and arthropods such as spiders and various biting and stinging invertebrates... This potential has been described by Ulrich et al. in a review of the scientific literature (1991:206): 'Conditioning studies have shown that nature settings containing snakes or spiders can elicit pronounced autonomic responses... even when presented subliminally.' Schneirla (1965) further notes that the occurrence of 'ugly, slimy, erratic' moving animals, such as certain snakes and invertebrates, provokes withdrawal responses among vertebrate neonates in the absence of overt or obvious threat." --p. 57

"Ohman and Dimberg, using classical conditioning paradigms, were able to elicit and maintain fear responses to spiders, snakes, and hostile human faces but not to "neutral" stimuli such as flowers or to such modern hazards as guns." -- p. 167
26

Lapland and the use of cheese in, Einzig, Paul. 1966. Primitive money in its ethnological, historical, and economic aspects. 2nd ed. Pergamon Press. "In Lapland, cheese served as a currency up to the 19th century." -- p. 310

26 The origins of money, Quiggin, Alison. 1907. A Survey of Primitive Money; The Beginning of Currency. Methuen.
27

More on precursors to coin and paper money in, Einzig, Paul. 1966. Primitive money in its ethnological, historical, and economic aspects. 2nd ed. Pergamon Press.

In Norway, "butter was used for valuation in many commercial documents, the unit being a basket. Rents were often payable wholly or partly in butter. In 1309, ten baskets of butter bought a horse worth three cows." -- p. 275
29

Japan's problems with oversaving were described in The Wall Street Journal on May 17, 2000

Japan is the first major developed country since World War II to confront the 'paradox of thrift,' the condition John Maynard Keynes worried about, where bad times lead individuals to save more, suppressing overall demand and making a country even worse off.

So the Japanese government nudges its citizens to live it up. The Finance Ministry, concerned that families would simply tuck away a recent $500-a-household income-tax cut, launched a media blitz to advise people on how to spend the money.

A cartoon in a magazine ad shows a father excitedly reading about the cuts in the newspaper, inspiring his two young kids to dream of cake and candy and his blushing wife to ask for a blouse. A poster plastered in subway stations pictures an aerial shot of a crammed neighborhood with words emanating from the homes. "I'll drink a toast with fine wine," says one. "I'll finally buy those golf clubs," says another. One implores: "Let's spend it all at once!"
30 The Simpson's episode where Homer buys weight loss-products (but is inadvertently shipped vocabulary tapes): episode is 8f22, available online: Homers Buys it now!
31 People plan to be "good" (e.g. with video selections), but given the chance are "bad". Read, D., G. Loewenstein and S. Kalyanaraman. 1999. "Mixing virtue and vice: The combined effects of hyperbolic discounting and diversification." Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 12: 257-73.

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Fat: Please don't feed the humans
35

For more information and studies about Chantek, check out: www.chantek.com (Note, this site is not always available). There is also an interesting article about Chantek and his trainer, Dr. Lyn Miles at: http://ur.utenn.edu/alumnus/summer98/chantek.html.
36

An excellent source of information about orangutans can be found at: http://www.zoomwhales.com/subjects/apes/orangutan/.

36 A spectacular article on Organutans in the wild is, Knott, Cheryl. 1998. "Orangutans in the Wild." National Geographic, August 194(2): 30-57. Photographs in this piece are taken by Tim Laman.
36

An important article laying out the role of ancestral environments in the shaping of our genetic human nature is, Tooby, John and Leda Cosmides. 1990. "The Past Explains the Present: Emotional Adaptations and the Structure of Ancestral Environments." Ethology & Sociobiology, 11: 375-424.
36 The Harvard Chimpanzee site (location of the bulimia conversation) is the Kibale National Park in Western Uganda. http://www.visituganda.com/nationalparks/kibale.htm
36 In many cultures where food is scarce, fatness is a positive signal of health and wealth. See, for example: Rosenblatt, P.C. 1974. "Cross-cultural perspective on attractiveness." In T. Huston (Ed.): Foundations of Interpersonal Attraction (pages 79-95). Academic Press. See also: Sheinin, R. 1990. Body Shame: Body Image in a Cultural Context. National Eating Disorders Information Centre Bulletin, 5.5:1-3.
36 "The fattening room is like paradise. Obesity is seen as something very special and sought after in this culture and an Iriabo works hard to achieve it." This is from the detailed description of the fat rooms of Nigeria in: Brink, P.J. (1989). The fattening room among the Annang of Nigeria. Medical Anthropology 12:131-143. Following the ritual, coming-of-age ceremony that takes place several years after reaching puberty, the young women--called Iriabos during the ceremony--enter the fattening room. Although some of the girls marry immediately after completing the ceremony, this is not always the case.
37 The importance to reproduction of having reserves of energy is discussed in: Hrdy, S.B. 1999. Mother Nature. Pantheon. See for instance, page 125: "with sufficient fat on board, some fat cells start to secrete the hormone leptin, which triggers endocrinological transformations leading to menarche. Some time after that, a young woman becomes fertile. By then she will have laid down sufficient fat to help carry her through pregnancy and lactation... this is termed 'reproductive fat'."
37 For an excellent and comprehensive account of the extent of starvation and malnutrition in the world, see the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations page at: http://www.fao.org/FOCUS/E/SOFI/home-e.htm.
38 For an overview of energy expenditure in daily life among modern day hunter-gatherers, see Cashdan, Elizabeth. 1989. "Hunters and Gatherers: Economic Behavior in Bands." in S. Plattner, ed., Economic Anthropology. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
38

Obesity is a clinical term that is revised from time to time. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an individual is "overweight" if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 25. This means that 54.6 % of Americans are overweight. A BMI greater than or equal to 30 is considered obese. This means that 22.6 % of the population are obese.

An excellent resource for more information is the American Heart Association. See, for instance: http://www.americanheart.org/Whats_News/AHA_News_Releases/obesityq&a.html.
39 A typical American gains about 20 pounds between the ages of 25 and 55. An outstanding summary of what scientists know about fat and obesity, including the relationship between weight gain and age, can be found in the Scientific American article: Gibbs, W.W. 1996. "Gaining on fat." Scientific American August 1996. http://www.sciam.com/0896issue/0896gibbs.html. This article also gives a nice summary of data bearing on the set-point theory.
39 A discussion of all the aspects of our health that would be improved if we lost 5 to 10 percent of our body weight can be found at: http://www.americanheart.org/Whats_News/AHA_News_Releases/obesity.html.
39
 A list of obesity related illnesses can be found at: http://www.obesity.org/health_effects.htm
40 Biosphere 2 Center is a non-profit affiliate of Columbia University. For a detailed description and photos, see: http://www.bio2.edu/
40 Because they couldn't grow as much food as they projected they would be able to, the Biodomers were forced onto a calorie-restricted dietary regime of about 1,800 calories per person per day.
40 Botanist Linda Leigh said personality differences and crop failures made life difficult for the Biodomers: "Food distribution became a very tense issue. . . I think that made us all a little cranky, always being hungry. . . If we ever all start talking to each other, that would be a major accomplishment." Associated Press. 1996. "Life inside Biosphere 2: food fights and bugs." July 29th 1996.
41 The starvation study where food became the favorite topic of discussion is reported in, Keys, Ancel, Josef Brozek, Austin Henschel, O. Michelson, et al. 1950. The Biology of Human Starvation. University of Minnesota Press.
41 Barbara Hansen, the director of the Obesity Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, conducted the study of weight loss and gain among monkeys. She describes the study in which she forced monkeys to lose weight and stay on a diet for two years and then, when she took them off of the diet they regained their weight, in the excellent book: Vogel, S. 1999. The Skinny on Fat. W.H. Freeman and Company. (See page 110).
41 For a current discussion of the set point theory of human weight, see the special issue of Nature devoted to Obesity -- 6 April 2000. Obesity Special Issue. Nature 404.

For a more accessible, but less current, discussion see Gibbs, Wayt. 1996. "Gaining on Fat." Scientific American August. Available online at: http://www.sciam.com/0896issue/0896gibbs.html
41 The study that measured metabolic rate during weight loss and weight gain of 10% is, Leibel, Rudolph, Michael Rosenbaum and Jules Hirsch. 1995. "Changes in Energy Expenditure Resulting from Altered Body Weight." New England Journal of Medicine, March 9 332(10): 621-628.
42 The role of neuropeptide Y in the control of appetite is described in Jhanwar-Uniyal, M., B. Beck, Y.S. Jhanwar, C. Burlet, and S.F. Leibowitz. 1993. "Neuropeptide Y projection from arcuate nucleus to parvocellular division of paraventricular nucleus: specific relation to the ingestion of carbohydrate." Brain Research 631:97-106. They found that a strong, positive correlation was found between daily carbohydrate intake and hypothalamic NPY levels.
42 As they get hungrier and hungrier, lab animals do indeed lose their sex drive. Data are from: Stone, C. P. and L. Ferguson. 1938. "Preferential responses of male albino rats to food and to receptive females." Journal of Comparative Psychology 26:237-255.
43 Numerous studies of the placebo effect have been noted over the year. The Xenical study cited is from Aronne, L.S. 1998. "Modern medical management if obesity: the role of pharmaceutical intervention." Journal of the American Dietetic Association 98:23-26. "In a one-year placebo-controlled study, 55% of patients getting Xenical lost more than 5% of their body weight, and 25% lost more than 10% of their body weight (compared with 33% and 15% in the placebo group)."
43 The strategies of successful dieters are recounted in: McGuire, M.T., R.R.Wing, M.L. Klem, W. Lang and J.O. Hill. 1999. "What predicts weight regain in a group of successful weight losers?" Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 67:177-185; See also Klem, M.L., R.R. Wing, M.T. McGuire, H.M. Seagle, and J.O. Hill. 1998. "Psychological symptoms in individuals successful at long-term maintenance of weight loss." Health Psychology 17:336-345.
45

The Socrates quote comes from Plato's Apology of Socrates. On trial for his life, Socrates says (as written by Plato),

"I have no wisdom, small or great. What then can he mean when he says that I am the wisest of men? … So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: conceit of Man, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is, for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think that I know."

There are many versions of the Apology of Socrates still in print. One inexpensive and easy to find version is the Penguin classic - The Last Days of Socrates.
48

A short article containing the highlights of the Peter Maher story is available online at: http://www.coolrunning.com/olympic/aap6042.htm.

Maher ran his Personal best of 2:11 in the 1991 London marathon. He is listed among the fastest marathon runners of all time at: http://w1.196.telia.com/~u19603668/atb-m24.htm
48 We encountered the mice that wouldn't exercise in the course of Jay's dissertation research: Phelan, J.P. 1995. Reproductive Costs and Longevity in the House Mouse. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University.
49 Natasha, the chimp that hates to move, was coaxed across her compound by oranges thrown just out of her reach by Terry, at Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta during the summer of 1998.
50 Data on wheel running distances for hungry vs. satiated mice are also from Jay's dissertation research: Phelan, J.P. 1995. Reproductive Costs and Longevity in the House Mouse. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University.
50 The ingenious mouse cage in which the animals must run some pre-determined number of revolutions on their exercise wheel before they'll get any food was invented and built by Glenn Perrigo. It's use is described in numerous excellent papers including: Perrigo, G. and F.H. Bronson. 1983. "Foraging effort, food intake, fat deposition and puberty in female mice." Biology of Reproduction 29:455-463; and Perrigo, G. and F.H. Bronson. 1985. "Behavioral and physiological responses of female house mice to foraging variation." Physiology & Behavior 34:437-440.
51 People who paid full price for their theater season tickets compared with those who were given theirs for half price. The experiement is described in: Arkes, H. and C. Blumer 1985. "The psychology of sunk costs." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 35:124-140.
53

Some online data on olestra:

http://www.cspinet.org/olestra/
http://www.fritolay.com/olestra.html, and
http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet/faqs/additive/olestra.htm
53

The corporate website from the producer of nutrasweet:

http://www.nutrasweet.com/infocenter/index.asp
54 Fake sugars don't fool your body into thinking that it has eaten sugary foods. The data are presented in: Lavin, J.H., S.J. French, and N.W. Read. 1997. "The effect of sucrose and aspartame-sweetened drinks on energy intake, hunger, and food choice of female, moderately restrained eaters." International Journal of Obesity 21:37-42.
54 The successful use stomach banding for long-term weight loss is described in: O'Brien, P.E., W.A. Brown, A. Smith, P.J. McMurrick, and M. Stephens. 1999. "Prospective study of a laparoscopically placed, adjustable gastric band in the treatment of morbid obesity." British Journal of Surgery 86:113-118.
55 Data on the number of liposuction procedures performed are presented at: www.plasticsurgery.org.
55

Recent studies of diet drugs and heart disease include:

Jick, H., C. Vasilakis, L. Weinrich, C. Meier, et al. 1998. "A population-based study of appetite-suppressant drugs and the risk of cardiac-valve regurgitation." New England Journal of Medicine 339(11): 719-24.

Kancherla, M., T. Mulderink, M. Parker, R. Bonow, et al. 1999. "Echocardiographic prevalence of mitral and/or aortic regurgitation in patients exposed to either fenfluramine-phentermine combination or to dexfenfluramine." American Journal of Cardiology. 84(11): 1335-8.

 

55 Fen-Phen weight loss over time and health, Wadden, T., R. Berkowitz, F. Silvestry, R. Vogt, et al. 1998. "The fen-phen finale: a study of weight loss and valvular heart disease." Obesity Research 6(4): 278-84.
55

Fen-Phen usage rates and discussion of disease implications available online from the American Medical Association at: http://www.americanheart.org/Whats_News/AHA_Science_Advisories/fenphen.html
55 The U.S. FDA official publication about liposuction states, "Liposuction is for body contouring, recommended for people who want to remove small amounts of fatty deposits." See full article online: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/600_flab.html5
55 The claims of Metabolife for increasing the expenditure of energy without an offsetting increase in appetite are made at: www.metabolife.com, while the claims made for ephedrine and caffeine-based products are described at: http://www.ephedrinehcl.com/.
55 For the current market price of a 3-month supply of Xenical, go to: http://www.adietpill.com/.
55

A study of Xenical/Orlistat in combination with traditional dieting, concludes that,

"The use of orlistat during periods of attempted weight maintenance minimizes weight readjustment and facilitates long-term improvement in obesity-related disease risk factors."

Hill, J. , J. Hauptman, J. Anderson, K. Fujioka, et al. 1999. "Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor, for weight maintenance after conventional dieting: a 1-y study." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 69(6): 1061-3.

55 The successful use of Xenical/Orlistat was described in 1999 in three articles in the Canadian Family Physician: Vol: 45:2331-3, 2336-8, 2343-5.

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Drugs: Hijacking the pleasure pathway
59

John Daly discussed his ongoing battle over trying to stay sober with ESPN Golf Online news services September 23, 1999 and in a related interview with Golf World Magazine. Excerpts.

NEW YORK -- John Daly is drinking and gambling again, not sure where it will lead but offering no regrets for losing an endorsement with Callaway Golf that had been his primary source of income. "It's sad, but I think it's great to be free," Daly told Golf World magazine
".. there's no sense in denying it. It's in my blood."

Daly said "Basically, it (trying to stay sober) had taken over my life, and I was miserable. It's like I've said before, there's no way I'd never drink again."

Daly's five-year deal with Callaway, signed after he left rehab in April 1997, included a provision that he not drink or gamble. Chairman Ely Callaway offered to send Daly to an addictions specialist nearly two weeks ago. Daly got to the undisclosed clinic and left. "The people were nice," Daly told Golf World. "But it just wasn't for me." Callaway said he had no choice but to drop Daly, who stood to earn about $3 million over the final two years of the contract.

Asked by the magazine why he continued to gamble even though he lost an estimated $12 million from 1993 to 1996, Daly said, "I love the action. I just love it."

59 Janis Joplin's "love affair" with drugs recounted in, Ward, Ed, Geoffrey Stokes and Ken Tucker. 1986. Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll.
59 Data from the Centers for Disease Control on the destructive toll of alcohol use, are given at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/alcohol.htm; The tally includes 25,175 deaths in the United States from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis in 1997 (the 10th leading cause of death in the United States that year). See also: http://silk.nih.gov/silk/niaaa1/database/qf.htm for a sobering summary of data collected by the National Institutes of Health.
60 The U.S. Department of Justice reported in April 1998 that in nearly 40 percent of violent crimes, alcohol is a factor, including in three-fourths of reported cases of spouse violence.
60 Relative mortality from traffic accidents and smoking: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there were 41, 471 traffic fatalities in 1998. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, about 500,000 North Americans and 2.5 million people worldwide die from cigarette smoking every year.
60 A good review of the literature on the addictive capacity of chemicals, including a description of the extent of animals' powerful desire to self-administer cocaine is: Gardner, E.L. and J. David. 1999. "The neurobiology of chemical addiction." In Elster, J. and O.J. Skog (eds), Getting Hooked: Rationality and the Addictions. Cambridge University Press. (See pages 93-136.)
60 Data on the worldwide consumption of caffeinated beverages are from: Graham, H.N. 1984. "Tea: the plant and its manufacture: chemistry and consumption of the beverage" and Gilbert, R.M.1984. Caffeine consumption. Both in: Spiller, G.A. (ed), The Methylxanthine Beverages and Foods: Chemistry, Consumption and Health Effects. Liss Publishing.
61 The data on improved maze-learning among rats after they have consumed caffeine are from: Battig, K., and H.Wetzl. 1993. "Psychopharmacological profile of caffeine." In Caffeine, Coffee, and Health, edited by S. Garrattini. Raven Publishing.
61 The benefits to competitive cyclists of caffeine consumption are described in: Burke, E.R. 1992. Cycling health and Physiology. Vitesse Press.
61 Numerous studies have searched for negative long-term health consequences of caffeine consumption with no significant findings. For one summary, see Chou, T. 1992. "Wake up and smell the coffee: Caffeine, coffee and medical consequences." Western Journal of Medicine 157:544-554. Numerous questions remain to be answered, though, as discussed in Goldstein, A. 1994. Addiction, from Biology to Drug Policy. W.H. Freeman and Co.
62 The mechanism by which adenosine may influence sleep and wakefulness is described in the review article: Porkka-Heiskanen, T. 1999. "Adenosine in sleep and wakefulness." Annals of Medicine 2:125-9. A less technical but really excellent description is given in: Braun, S. 1996. Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine. Penguin Books.
63 James Olds's demonstration that rats loved stimulation (with electrodes) in the mesolimbic area of their brain is described in: Olds, J. "'Reward' from brain stimulation in the rat." Science 122:878. For an interesting and personal description of this important research, see: http://stills.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/jolds.html.
66 For a description of the relationship between genital stimulation, erections, and brain sensations of pleasure, see: Hirayama, A., K. Yamada, Y. Tanaka, N. Hirata, M. Yamamoto, T. Suemori, H. Momose, T. Shiomi, S. Oozono and Y. Hirao, 1995. "Evaluation of sexual function in adults with myelomeningocele." Acta Urologica Japonica 41:985-9.
68 The dramatic effect of endorphins on mood are described in: Wildmann, J. A. Krueger, M. Schmole, J. Niemann, and others. 1986. "Increase of circulating beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity correlates with the change in feeling of pleasantness after running." Life Sciences 38:997-1003.
69 An accessible description of the physiological effects of nicotine are described: Krogh, D. 1991. Smoking: The Artificial Passion. W.H. Freeman and Co. (See page 32.) See also: DiChara, G. and A. Imperato. 1988. "Drugs abused by humans preferentially increase synaptic dopamine concentrations in the mesolimbic system of freely moving rats." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 85:5274-78.
70 A lucid account of the neurochemical consequences of alcohol in the brain is given in: Braun, S. 1996. Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine. Penguin Books. See also: Weight, F.F. 1992. Cellular and molecular physiology of alcohol actions in the nervous system. International Review of Neurobiology 33:289-348; and Gianoulakis, C., P. Angelogianni, M. Meany, J. Thavundayil, and V. Tawar. 1990. "Endorphins in individuals with high and low risk for development of alcoholism." In: Opioids, Bulemia, and Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, L. D. Reid (ed.). Springer-Verlag.
70 The serotonin increasing, Prozac-like qualities of alcohol are described in: Lovinger, D.M. and R.W. Peoples. 1993. Actions of alcohols and other sedative/hypnotic compounds on cation channels associated with glutamate and 5-HT3 receptors. In: Alcohol, Cell Membranes, and Signal Transduction in Brain, C. Alling, I. Diamond, S.W. Leslie (eds.). Plenum Press.
71 It is difficult to get an accurate count of just how many high school students take steroids and so estimates can vary a bit. The data we cite are from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/steroids.html). they reported in 1997 that 175,000 high school girls and 325,000 high school boys used steroids.
71 Anabolic steroids can indeed increase an individual's muscle mass. According to The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: "Anabolic steroids are drugs derived from the male sex hormone, testosterone. They promote muscle growth and increase lean body mass." See: http://www.health.org/pubs/qdocs/steroid/stereffects.htm
71 In addition to their desired effects, steroid have numerous dangerous effects in males, including shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts. For a detailed description, see the National Institutes of Health's summary at: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/steroids.html
72 Data on caffeine consumption in the U.S. and the amount of caffeine in soda are from: Nehlig, A. 1999. "Are we dependent upon coffee and caffeine? A review on animal and human data." Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 23:563-576. (See page 564: "Caffeine consumption reaches 210-238 mg/day in the U.S.")
72 The study in which subjects were given 900mg of caffeine a day for three weeks is: Evans, S.M. and R.R. Griffiths. 1992. "Caffeine tolerance and choice in humans." Psychopharmacology 108:51-59.
72 Heroin tolerance study reported in, Jones, Kenneth Lamar, Louis W. Shainberg and Curtis O. Byer. 1979. Drugs and Alcohol. 3rd Edition. Harper & Row. (p. 31). "A group of individuals were given equal doses of heroin every day for 19 days. The euphoric effects (exaggerated sense of well-being) they experienced after receiving the heroin were measured each day and graphed. The effects of the standard dosage decreased and by the 19th day were almost nonexistent.")
73 Alcohol withdrawal varies tremendously from person to person and can include many symptoms from tremors, sweating, and insomnia, to full-blown delirium tremens. In fewer than 5% of cases, does alcohol withdrawal progress to delirium tremens. For a detailed discussion , see Madden, J.S. 1984. A Guide to Alcohol and Drug Dependence. Bristol publishing. (See pages 44-45.)
74 The chemical details of the fast flushing response are given in: Institute of Medicine. 1997. "The Neurobiology of Addiction: An Overview." In: Dispelling the Myths About Addiction : Strategies to Increase Understanding and Strengthen Research Institute of Medicine (eds.). National Academy Press. See pages 37-54.
74 The increased incidence of fast flushing among Asians is described in: Chen, C.C. and E.K. Yeh. 1989. "Population differences in ALDH levels and the flushing response." In: Molecular Mechanisms of Alcohol, G.Y. Sun (ed.). Humana Press.
74 Data on the lack of fast flushing among Japanese alcoholics is from: Higuci, S., S. Matsushita, H. Imazeki, T. Kinoshita, S. Takagi, and H. Kono. 1994. "Aldehyde dehydrogenase genotypes in Japanese alcoholics." Lancet 343:741-742.
74 The breeding of animals that liked the taste of alcohol is described in: Crabbe, J.C., J.K. Belknap, and K.J. Buck. 1994. "Genetic animal models of alcohol and drug abuse." Science 264:1715-1723. Their brains were shown to have decreased serotonin levels in: Murphy, J.M., W.J. McBride, L. Lumeng, and T.K. Li. 1987. "Contents of monoamines in forebrain regions of alcohol-preferring and non-preferring lines of rats." Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 26:389-392.
74

Are dopamine receptor levels related to alcoholism? This is still a pretty controversial question. Examination of DNA samples from the brains of corpses of thirty-five alcoholics and thirty-five non-alcoholics revealed that a variant of the gene for a specific type of dopamine receptor (D2) was present in 69% of the alcoholics but only 20% of the non-alcoholics. These date are from: Noble, E.P., P.J. Sheridan, A. Montgomery, T. Ritchie, P. Jagadeeswaran, H. Nogami, A.H. Briggs, and J.B. Cohn. 1990. "Allelic association of the D2 dopamine receptor gene in alcoholism." Journal of the American Medical Association 263:2055-60; and also discussed in: Noble, E.P. and K. Blum. 1991. "The dopamine D2 receptor gene and alcoholism" (letter to the editor). Journal of the American Medical Association 265:2667.

Their claim is that this variant, called the A1 allele, results in fewer D2 receptors in the brain (See Noble, E.P., K. Blum, T. Ritchie, A. Montgomery, and P.J. Sheridan, P.J. 1991. "Allelic association of the D2 dopamine receptor gene with receptor binding characteristics in alcoholism." Archives of General Psychiatry 48:648-654.) In this paper, the second section of table 3, page 652, clearly shows that the number of binding sites is significantly correlated with which allele a person carries.

On the front page of the New York Times, however, a team from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism announced that it did not find any difference between alcoholics and non-alcoholics in the frequency of the A1 allele. Both sides are continuing to explore this issue.
75

Also controversial is the question of the link between having a gene for dopamine receptors and smoking addiction. But see: Lerman, C., N.E. Caporaso, J. Audrain, D. Main, E.D. Bowman, B. Lockshin, N.R. Boyd, and P.G. Shields. 1999. "Evidence suggesting the role of specific genetic factors in cigarette smoking." Health Psychology 18:14-20. This was a twin study showing evidence that the SLC6A3 (dopamine receptor) gene influenced smoking initiation and nicotine dependence.

Another study then proposed that that individuals with a particular type of dopamine receptor gene have altered dopamine transmission, reducing their need for novelty and reward by external stimuli (such as cigarettes). See: Sabol, S.Z., M.L. Nelson, C. Fisher, L. Gunzerath, C.L. Brody, S. Hu, L.A. Sirota, S.E. Marcus, B.D. Greenberg, F.R. Lucas, J. Benjamin, D.L. Murphy, and D.H. Hamer. 1999. "A genetic association for cigarette smoking behavior." Health Psychology 18:7-13.
75 The link between drug addictions and the body's dopamine system is discussed in: Noble, E.P., K. Blum, M.E. Khalsa, T. Ritchie, A. Montgomery, R.C. Wood, R.J. Fitch, T. Ozkaragoz, P.J. Sheridan, M.D. Anglin, and others 1993. "Allelic association of the D2 dopamine receptor gene with cocaine dependence." Drug and Alcohol Dependence 33:271-85.
75 Thomas Richard Jones's attorney described his clients battle with alcohol and pills in his closing argument: "The devil lurking in this alcohol and in these pills would not turn loose of him." From: Vick, K. 1997. "Intoxicated N.C. Driver Handed Life Sentence." Washington Post, 5/7/97, p. A9.
76 In male identical twins, the concordance rate for alcoholism is was measured as 76% versus 61% for fraternal twins. Among females, the numbers were 36% and 25%, respectively. See: Pickens, R.W., D.S. Svikis, M. McGue, D.T. Lykken, L.L. Hesten, and P.J. Clayton. 1991. "Heterogeneity in the inheritance of alcoholism." Archives of General Psychiatry 48:19-28.
77 John Daly's 3 million dollar drink. Daly walked away from a $3 million contract that required him to stay sober. See detailed note for page 59 (above) for source and quote.
77

Thomas Covington featured in New York Times, September 19, 1999. Excerpts,

CRACK'S LEGACY: A SPECIAL REPORT
A Drug Ran Its Course, Then Hid With Its Users


"I don't think anything the police did changed my behavior," said Thomas Covington, who was arrested 31 times, mostly for crack possession, and served two prison terms before voluntarily entering drug treatment. "Sometimes it was a little more challenging to buy. But once that compulsion is there, it doesn't matter what the penalty or the threat is."

Covington is a big, sharp-witted Brooklyn native who has used crack on and off for 15 years. He made it through the explosive violence that came with crack's introduction. He was homeless, and sick, and twice felt the steel tip of a handgun pressed to his temple by hot-tempered dealers.

He dodged the police offensives of three mayors.

But starting in the early 90's, Covington said, he noticed a shift in the attitudes of young drug dealers. "They didn't use crack," he said. "And they didn't respect people who did. To me, being a 34- or 35-year-old guy, standing on line and handing my money to a 15-year-old, that was humiliating."
78 Data on the ancient use of hallucinogenic compounds by the Maya are from: Stone, T. and G. Darlington. 2000. Pills, Potions and Poisons: How Drugs Work. Oxford University Press.
80 For good general descriptions of the physiological effects of anti-alcohol drugs, see: http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-a02.html and http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/pblct/litrev/treatmod/lit1e.shtml.
80 The cocaine-fighting chemical, BP 897, was described in detail in the news article: Aston-Jones, G. and Druhan, J. 1999. "Breaking the chain of addiction." Nature 9/16/99.
   

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Risk: Thrill-seeking genes take us for a ride
83

U.S. gambling statistics are available in many places. The most comprehensive is the 1999 report of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission—available online: http://www.ngisc.gov/. The Economist wrote a more readable article on U.S. gambling in June 1998, it's highlights:

"Legalised gambling is now permitted in 47 states and the District of Columbia, generating more than $50 billion in gross revenues (dollars wagered minus payouts). Gambling expenditures as a percentage of personal income more than doubled between 1974 and 1997, from 0.3% to 0.74%. Americans now spend more on various wagers than they do on theme parks, video games, spectator sports and movie tickets combined (see chart). Government is far more than an observer in all this. Revenue from state lotteries climbed from $2 billion in 1973 to $34 billion in 1997. The states spent $400m advertising such games, in some cases targeting poor districts. Tribal casinos take in another $7 billion."
84

California lottery rules: http://www.calottery.com/games/superlotto.html
What is SuperLottoTM? SuperLotto is your chance to win millions of dollars! The jackpot ranges from $4 million to $50 million or more. The jackpot rolls over and grows whenever there is no winner. All you have to do is pick six numbers from 1 to 51 and match them to the six numbers drawn by the Lottery every Wednesday and Saturday.

In the lottery, there are 51 balls, each with a different number painted on. They go from 1 to 51. Six balls are going to be pulled out of a bin. In order to win the jackpot, you must choose all six numbers.
85 The HIV test problem and the results from the Harvard Medical School are reported in, Casscells, W., A. Schoenberger and T. Grayboys. 1978. "Interpretation by physicians of clinical laboratory results." New England Journal of Medicine 299: 999-1000.
86 More than twice as many people lose their lives in automobile accidents each year than have died in airline crashes in the entire history of air travel. Glassner, Barry. 1999. The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things. Basic Books.
86 Red deer stag competition described in, Clutton-Brock, T.H. and S.D. Albon. 1979. "The roaring of red deer and the evolution of honest advertisement." Behaviour, 69: 145-70. See also Krebs and Davies. 1993. An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology, 3rd edition. Blackwell Scientific Publications. P 160-161 for a succinct summary and p 162 for photographs of stags bellowing, parallel walking and fighting (figure 7.5).
87 Mini and Hulkster battle in, Austad, S. N. 1983. "A Game Theoretical interpretation of male combat in the bowl and doily spider, Frontinella pyramitela." Animal Behavior 31: 59-73.
88

Yanomamö unokais data from, Chagnon, Napolean. 1988. "Life Histories, Blood Revenge, and Warfare in a Tribal Population." Science 239: 985-992. General discussion of the Yanomamö in, Chagnon, Napoleon. 1992. Yanomamö, 4th edition. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Unokais -- 137 men in this study were Unokai (had killed another man)

Average number of living offspring = 4.91
Average number of wives = 1.63

Non-unokais -- 243 men in this study were not Unokai (had not killed another man)

Average number of living offspring = 1.59
Average number of wives = 0.63
89

Dopamine receptors (the "novelty gene") and risky behavior, Benjamin, J., L. Li, C. Patterson, B.D. Greenberg, et al. 1996. "Population and Familial Association Between the D4 Dopamine Receptor Gene and Measures of Novelty Seeking." Nature Genetics 12: 81-4. The last author of this study is Dean Hamer, who wrote, Hamer, Dean. 1998. Living with our Genes. Doubleday. In it he discussed the relationship between the novelty gene and sex:

"Straight [heterosexual] men with the long gene, the high novelty seekers, were six time more likely to have slept with another man than those [heterosexual men] with a short gene... Those [gay men] with the long, high novelty-seeking form of the gene had sex with more than five times as many women as did those with the shor, low novelty-seeking form." -- p. 179-180.
89 The "novelty gene" and migration, Chen, Chuansheng, Michael Burton, Ellen Greenberger and Julia Dmitrevea. 1999. "Population Migration and the Variation of Dopamine D4 Receptor (DRD4) Allele Frequencies Around the Globe." Evolution and Human Behavior, September 20(5): 309-324.
91 Brilliant woodpecker statisticians, Lima, Steve. 1984. "Downy woodpecker foraging behavior: efficient sampling in simple stochastic environments." Ecology 67: 377-85.
92 U.S. mortality figures (1997) from the Centers for Disease Control, National Vital Statistics Reports. Volume 47, Number 19, Deaths Final Data for 1997, available online: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvs47_19.pdf
92 An excellent article on what Americans fear and what we actually die from is, Slovic, Paul , Baruch Fischhoff and Sarah Lichtenstein. 1982. Chapter 33: Facts vs. fears: Understanding perceived risk. in Daniel Kahneman, Paul Slovic and Amos Tversky, eds., Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases.: Cambridge University Press.
93 Ache death figures from Hill, Kim and Magdelena Hurtado. 1996. Ache Life History: The Ecology and Demography of a Foraging People. Aline De Gruyter. See pages 172-173.
96 Humans inability to figure the odds for problems of the sort used by the California lottery, Kahneman, Daniel, Paul Slovic and Amos Tversky, Eds. 1982. Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. P 169.
97 Lottery tickets study and the bumbling vs. competent opponent study are both described in, Langer, Ellen J. 1982. Chapter 16: The Illusion of Control. in Daniel Kahneman, Paul Slovic and Amos Tversky, eds., Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases.: Cambridge University Press.
102

The definitive source for U.S. Stock market data is, Siegel, Jeremy J. 1998. Stocks for the Long Run, 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill.

"over the last century, accumulations in stocks have always outperformed other financial assets for the patient investor. Even such calamitous events such as the Great 1929 Stock Crash did not negate the superiority of stocks as long-term investments." --p. 5
102 A paper showing that people, particularly men, who trade actively do worse than those who trade less frequently, Barber, Brad M. and Terrance Odean. 2000. "Boys Will Be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment." Quarterly Journal of Economics Forthcoming. Preprint available for download
103

Iceman museum online

The Iceman after a risky career change
104 Sir Edmund Hilary online (with video)

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Greed: Running fast on the happiness treadmill
105
An excellent discussion of the lack of long-term satisfaction achieved through wealth is contained in the opening chapter of, Frank, Robert. 1999. Luxury Fever. Why Money Fails to Satisfy in an Era of Excess. The Free Press.
105 An academic work on the causes of happiness is, Kahneman, Daniel, Ed Diener and Norbert Schwarz, Eds. 1999. Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology. Russell Sage Foundation. In Chapter 18, causes and correlates of happiness, Michael Argyle discusses the role of money in happiness and states, "Income has a complex and generally weak effects on happiness. Cross-sectional studies find a small positive effect but only at the lower end of the income scale" --p 353
107 The official suicide statistics for the United States are compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and available online: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm
107 A recent book on suicide is, Jamison, Redfield. 1999. Night Falls Fast. Knopf. --Some key data from the book: Suicide attempts land half a million Americans in hospitals every year. As compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO), 2 percent of deaths in 1998 were suicides -- more than from war and far more than from homicide.
107 Depression statistics from, Kessler RC, McGonagle KA, Swartz M, Blazer DG, Nelson CB. "Sex and depression in the National Co-morbidity Survey. I: Lifetime prevalence, chronicity and recurrence." J Affect Disord. 1993;29:85-96.
108

Life among the Yanomamo (before their civilization was destroyed) is discussed in, Chagnon, Napoleon. 1992. Yanomamo, 4th edition. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

"I would be bitterly disappointed that my erstwhile friend thought no more of me than to finesse our personal relationship exclusively with the intention of getting at my locked up possessions, and my depression would hit new lows every time I discovered this. ... The hardest thing to learn to live with was the incessant, passioned, and often aggressive demands they would make." --p 16

"by then, a species of insect has laid its eggs in the pith and the eggs have developed into large grubs, some the size of mice! This grub looks like a housefly maggot, but a very large one. ...An experienced missionary who tried them said they taste to him like very fat bacon"-- p 62
109 The famous lottery winners and accident victims paper is, Brickman, P., D. Coates and R.J. Janoff-Bulman. 1978. "Lottery Winners and Accident Victims: Is Happiness Relative?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 36: 917-927.
110 Reeve, Christopher. 1998. Still Me. Ballantine.
112</