Dr. Bill von Hippel

Yeah, I believe humans evolved to be serial monogamists who cheat a little bit. Now, why do I think we also cheat a little bit? Because if we're purely monogamous, men would not need testicles as large as they are. A gorilla is not monogamous. It has a harem of several females, but no other male gorilla can approach those females because he will physically attack them.

Yeah, I believe humans evolved to be serial monogamists who cheat a little bit. Now, why do I think we also cheat a little bit? Because if we're purely monogamous, men would not need testicles as large as they are. A gorilla is not monogamous. It has a harem of several females, but no other male gorilla can approach those females because he will physically attack them.

And so he knows that he's the only one having sex with them and he has very small testicles. And in fact, they're inside his body. They're not at risk of damage. A chimpanzee, their mating system is lots of male chimps have sex with lots of females.

And so he knows that he's the only one having sex with them and he has very small testicles. And in fact, they're inside his body. They're not at risk of damage. A chimpanzee, their mating system is lots of male chimps have sex with lots of females.

So who knows whose father has these enormous testicles because part of his job is to wash out, I know it doesn't sound nice, wash out the guy who's there before him. So maybe his sperm will be the one that inseminates her. Wash out? What do you mean by wash out?

So who knows whose father has these enormous testicles because part of his job is to wash out, I know it doesn't sound nice, wash out the guy who's there before him. So maybe his sperm will be the one that inseminates her. Wash out? What do you mean by wash out?

Like literally pump so much sperm into her that the previous guy who just had sex with her, his sperm is literally washed out as if you were there with a hose. I know it doesn't, it's not, it's not. Anyway, so if we were ancestrally purely monogamous, we'd have little gorilla testicles and we don't.

Like literally pump so much sperm into her that the previous guy who just had sex with her, his sperm is literally washed out as if you were there with a hose. I know it doesn't, it's not, it's not. Anyway, so if we were ancestrally purely monogamous, we'd have little gorilla testicles and we don't.

Ours are way bigger than theirs, which suggests that we did a little bit of washing out of our own, which suggests we were serially monogamous, but we're also sneaking around at the same time.

Ours are way bigger than theirs, which suggests that we did a little bit of washing out of our own, which suggests we were serially monogamous, but we're also sneaking around at the same time.

Well, natural doesn't mean good. I'm not saying it's a good thing, right? But I'm saying it's what our ancestors did. So my guess is when they could get away with it. You know, they're there in the cave. There's this couple who aren't a couple, but nobody else is around. Both of them have reasons to do it.

Well, natural doesn't mean good. I'm not saying it's a good thing, right? But I'm saying it's what our ancestors did. So my guess is when they could get away with it. You know, they're there in the cave. There's this couple who aren't a couple, but nobody else is around. Both of them have reasons to do it.

Males want to cheat because it gives them a greater chance of having offspring they otherwise wouldn't have. Females can't have an infinite number of kids like males can because they can have sex with 20 guys. They're still only going to have one kid. The orangutan has, like, pretty similar DNA to us. Is it the orangutan? Which monkey is it? The chimps are the closest to us. The chimps.

Males want to cheat because it gives them a greater chance of having offspring they otherwise wouldn't have. Females can't have an infinite number of kids like males can because they can have sex with 20 guys. They're still only going to have one kid. The orangutan has, like, pretty similar DNA to us. Is it the orangutan? Which monkey is it? The chimps are the closest to us. The chimps.

And then gorillas and then orangutans. But they're all great apes, so they're all pretty close to us. Can chimps talk?

And then gorillas and then orangutans. But they're all great apes, so they're all pretty close to us. Can chimps talk?

No. There's no one telling you. Now, they do sign language, lots of things that they're interested in doing, immediate communication. But if you think about sign language, it's really good for saying, you know, there's something behind you. It's really good for saying, I'm going to punch you in the face if you don't give me your food, whatever.

No. There's no one telling you. Now, they do sign language, lots of things that they're interested in doing, immediate communication. But if you think about sign language, it's really good for saying, you know, there's something behind you. It's really good for saying, I'm going to punch you in the face if you don't give me your food, whatever.

But it's not good for saying, you know, yesterday I had sex with your wife. How do they communicate that? They're terrible at communicating that kind of things that are separated by space or by time. They just simply can't communicate. And so, but they can't think about it either. And so... Homo erectus is the first animal on this planet who could think about things separate by space and time.

But it's not good for saying, you know, yesterday I had sex with your wife. How do they communicate that? They're terrible at communicating that kind of things that are separated by space or by time. They just simply can't communicate. And so, but they can't think about it either. And so... Homo erectus is the first animal on this planet who could think about things separate by space and time.