Dr. Bill von Hippel

Well, it's not too far away from us, and we never evolved to want children. Look, fertility rates are going way down, and a lot of countries are going to be literally half their size by the year 2100 because they're shrinking so fast. And the list is really long about how hard it is to raise the child in today's world. So you want to make having kids to be as much of the plus as it possibly can be.

Well, it's not too far away from us, and we never evolved to want children. Look, fertility rates are going way down, and a lot of countries are going to be literally half their size by the year 2100 because they're shrinking so fast. And the list is really long about how hard it is to raise the child in today's world. So you want to make having kids to be as much of the plus as it possibly can be.

And with the perfect robot nanny, you would never worry at all.

And with the perfect robot nanny, you would never worry at all.

Well, young people having less sex than they were 20 years ago, marriage steadily going down, and our lives are so much better, but we're not any happier. And part of the problem is that we're constantly choosing to do our own thing rather than connect. So here's the data. In 1850, 1 in 100 Americans lived alone. Now it's 1 in 7. In the 1970s, 1 in 3 people spent time with their neighbors.

Well, young people having less sex than they were 20 years ago, marriage steadily going down, and our lives are so much better, but we're not any happier. And part of the problem is that we're constantly choosing to do our own thing rather than connect. So here's the data. In 1850, 1 in 100 Americans lived alone. Now it's 1 in 7. In the 1970s, 1 in 3 people spent time with their neighbors.

Now that's completely reversed. Now, let's dive a little deeper. 50% of humanity now lives in the city. And they're about 25% wealthier than people who live in the country. And yet the data shows people in the country are happier because cities are all about I want to do what I want. And the problem is that we can't introduce social connection into our life willy-nilly or we won't keep it up.

Now that's completely reversed. Now, let's dive a little deeper. 50% of humanity now lives in the city. And they're about 25% wealthier than people who live in the country. And yet the data shows people in the country are happier because cities are all about I want to do what I want. And the problem is that we can't introduce social connection into our life willy-nilly or we won't keep it up.

So what do we do about that? Two things. One...

So what do we do about that? Two things. One...

You want honest signals of quality. And bizarrely, one of the clearest honest signals for men to demonstrate for women is...

You want honest signals of quality. And bizarrely, one of the clearest honest signals for men to demonstrate for women is...

Oh, mostly in the lab trying to figure out why humans do what they do. What do you mean by why we do what we do? Well, I'm super interested in not just what we do, but what the underlying cause might be. Why does having a nice dinner with your friends make you happy? It just seems inherently obvious. Well, of course it does. But there's got to be a reason for that.

Oh, mostly in the lab trying to figure out why humans do what they do. What do you mean by why we do what we do? Well, I'm super interested in not just what we do, but what the underlying cause might be. Why does having a nice dinner with your friends make you happy? It just seems inherently obvious. Well, of course it does. But there's got to be a reason for that.

And there's got to be a reason that it's very different if it's not with your friends or if it's different kinds of foods or the list goes on. It could be anything. And so what I try to do is I look into our evolutionary history. I say, how did we get here? What were the factors that made us success?

And there's got to be a reason that it's very different if it's not with your friends or if it's different kinds of foods or the list goes on. It could be anything. And so what I try to do is I look into our evolutionary history. I say, how did we get here? What were the factors that made us success?

And the things that made us successful are likely to, as a species, are likely to be the things that make us happy. Because happiness is one of the tools that evolution uses to guide us in the direction that it wants us to go. You know, evolution has no foresight. But evolution shapes us the way we are.

And the things that made us successful are likely to, as a species, are likely to be the things that make us happy. Because happiness is one of the tools that evolution uses to guide us in the direction that it wants us to go. You know, evolution has no foresight. But evolution shapes us the way we are.

And the things that make us successful, those ancestors who enjoy doing those things are going to be the ancestors who have more kids than the ancestors who enjoyed doing things that were bad for them. Yeah. What is evolution? So evolution is this mindless process.

And the things that make us successful, those ancestors who enjoy doing those things are going to be the ancestors who have more kids than the ancestors who enjoyed doing things that were bad for them. Yeah. What is evolution? So evolution is this mindless process.