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Overview
This book is a humorous, semi-scientific guide to understanding the nature of men and women. It is a helpful source for navigating the ins and outs of interactions with the opposite sex. The book starts with the beginning of sex, goes through nature and nurture to a description of men and women, and finally, to marriage and beyond. You will find checklists, quizzes, and a road map through the perils and pleasures of finding a mate. Included are interesting facts, figures, and advice from poets, writers, and romance experts. Whether you are twenty or fifty, you will find this book a wonderful resource for the affairs of the heart.
John West has hit a perfect bullseye with this book. It will have you laughing as you discover what makes relationships work or falter in the complicated dance of romance. I wish I had read it before stepping into various relationships. West thoughtfully describes the inner workings of our brains, the hormonal and cultural influences that make us who we are, and how all that plays a major role when we try to engage with others. If you think it isn't possible to find the perfect mate, read this book, it makes you realize the type of person you are best suited for and helps you understand the changes you need to make to be a perfect partner. Cynthia L. Griswold, RN, MSN, FNP
This book should be on all book shelves. It is scientific, it is insightful, and it is hilarious. John West captures the essence of being male and female in this modern world. He explains our habits and idiosyncratic behavior in easy to understand chapters but brings you to tears with his insightfulness. I cannot recommend this tome highly enough, an excellent read. Best book on the sexes I have encountered. You are learning as well as being entertained. A must read, helpful for all marriages. Superb understanding of science and human nature. You will never view the opposite sex the same after reading this book. A bloody good read. John Brownsberger Academic Advisor and professor Charles Stuart University New South Wales Australia
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781524648145 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 11/14/2016 |
| Pages: | 144 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.31(d) |
About the Author
John lived six months on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and six months in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is married to Valerie and has two children and five grandsons.
Read an Excerpt
The Nature of Men and Women, The X and Y Factor, or I Didn't Say it was your Fault, I Said I was Going to Blame You
By John West
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2016 John WestAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5246-4814-5
CHAPTER 1
The Beginning of Sex
Life began quite sexless. Early organisms had no sex. There were no males, no females, no differentiation based on genitalia, behavior, or poky things. For billions of years, one celled Protozoans scurried around just trying to stay alive. One day, that changed. One day out of billions of years, one cell adhered to another cell and they swapped genetic material. They went on their way with no hug, no handshake, and no thank you; just swap and go. Protozoans do feel sensations, maybe not happiness, but something made them do it and continue to do it. Though not the beginning of sex, it was "one small step for man, and a giant leap for mankind." The exchange of genetic material proved beneficial, and a trend was born. That swap enabled the growth of diversity, and led from asexual to sexual reproduction.
Other organisms, instead of adhering to one another, began to throw out special cells that would connect and form offspring, a toss and go of genetic material. There appeared to be two different groups of the same species throwing out slightly different special cells to make a new individual. This action may have been the precursor of sex, a "pre-sex" if you will. A couple hundred millions of years later and two kinds of special cells were developing. It took about two billion years of trial and error to hit on what today is a successful strategy of egg and sperm.
What is Sex? When did it Start?
Sex revolves around methods of reproduction. Simply put, if you produce a mature special cell (gamete) to reproduce, you are a sexual organism. If there is no mature special cell, you are asexual, a no-sex organism. There are two kinds of special cells (gametes) called an egg or a sperm. If you produce an egg, you are a female. If you produce a sperm, you are a male. The coded directions for the human female or male are on the X and Y chromosomes, and therefore these chromosomes determine the sex of the individual. Interestingly, the female came first, way first. There was an intermediate form of male, a non-female, but not yet a male along the way. A lot of women think most men are an intermediate form anyway. Finally, billions of years from year zero, comes the male. Sexual reproduction started about one billion years ago.
Sexual Reproduction
Sexual organisms need the male gamete, sperm, to fertilize the female gamete, egg, in order to produce a new organism. Nowhere on earth do we find a third type of gamete (if there was a third one at one time, it did not work and it died). Whether it is a worm, a starfish, a clam, an insect, a flower, a duck-billed platypus or a human, no more than two gametes, an egg and a sperm, are needed to produce an offspring. (A threesome may produce a child but only for the fun of it).
Sex or No Sex
We have a huge diversity of life on earth. The sexual delivery system of exchanging genetic material between males and females is successful among both animals and plants. Mating rituals between animals on all levels are especially interesting. To be sure, single cell, asexual organisms still exist throughout the world as they have for billions of years. Sexual reproduction was not vital to the continuation of life on this planet. However, it seems the more ways life can reproduce the happier our evolutionary genome becomes. And for humans, sex seems to be a major driving force in our daily lives.
Gender and LGBT
Humans are not locked into a strict biological imperative of reproduction. And it seems human nature is not locked into a strict definition of gender either. LGBT stands for 'lesbian,' 'gay,' 'bisexual,' and 'transgender'. In some cases a human is born with both sexual genitalia. The term used for this is hermaphrodite and is a common occurrence in many animals and plants. According to an article in the newspaper from 11-2-13, in Germany, parents do not have to register their new-born as male or female. A gender can be decided later. The human mind is wide open to variations of sexual desire and identity. While it takes a male and female gamete to produce an offspring, it does not take 'only' the opposite sex to 'have sex'. The desire toward the opposite sex or same-sex or both sexes is quite common. One article I read mentioned as many as 1,500 animal species, males and females, have been observed engaging in same sex activities. These animals include lions and giraffes and especially herd animals. "Friends with benefits" is prevalent in nonhuman animals. Group groping is particularly popular, as is oral sex, among the monkey set. It appears that in many animals, same-sex (male or female) relationships prove and improve loyalty to the group, thus enabling a tighter group for hunting and defense. Many animals solve conflicts by practicing same sex activities. These relationships are not new in the biological world. Accepting these behaviors in humans is hard for some people and many of these behaviors have ignorantly been outlawed in some countries. In our world of surgical miracles, if you don't like the sex you were born with you can swap it for another. The sexual equipment door is wide open.
Any Advantage to Being Male or Female?
It would seem that the female is the more important gender, and should therefore have some life advantages or increased birth rates over the male. One male can fertilize the eggs of many females, so the world needs many strong females but only a few strong males willing to pass their sperm around. Nature always seems to find a balance. Birth statistics in the US since 1940 show five million more males have been born than females. However, females in every population, in every country, live longer than males by about five years. It would seem the role of warrior and worker (maybe a colorful decoy), while being a benefit to family and community, takes a toll on the longevity of the male population. There is slight evidence that females have more health protection than males, especially in heart matters. Nature dictates that men and women must survive long enough to reproduce, after that nature does not care. There does not seem to be any health related advantage to being male or female, unless you feel living to be one hundred is a great achievement.
CHAPTER 2A Short Lesson on Genetics
If you go to any major book store and peruse the cooking section, you will see a hundred different cook books. Each has a variety of recipes. The recipes are a set of instructions for making something from a list of ingredients. That is much like genetics. Living things come with inherited instructions and their own list of ingredients. Look around the world and you can see what Mother Nature has cooked up.
Life has been around for over 3 billion years. The diversity and complexity of living organisms is immense and often beyond belief. Our discussion of genetics, inheritance, and evolution of the sexes is not meant to be all-inclusive. It is factual, but is, nevertheless, a narrow view of males and females in general.
Gregor Mendel (1822 – 1884) is considered the father of modern genetics with his laws of heredity. Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) gave us his theory of natural selection in 1858. I find the field of genetics very interesting but also extremely complicated. Exciting discoveries seem to happen every day. While genetics unfolds some vital and amazing information, for the purposes of this book we only need to understand a few general concepts.
Living organisms may consist of one cell to hundreds of trillions of cells. In each cell there is material that guides the cell. That material is deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. DNA contains the blueprints, the recipe, for the construction and behavior of living organisms. It does not matter whether an ant or a flower or a fish or a human, the plans for construction of each organism is in the DNA of that organism. Strands of DNA are called chromosomes. Located on sections of the chromosome are areas called genes. The gene is responsible for one step in the process of the blueprint. The sum total of all the genes located on all the chromosomes of an organism is called its genome. What is really cool is that in all living organisms the genetic material, the DNA, has essentially the same basic formula. Only the sequence and length of the parts of DNA are different from organism to organism.
Scientists from the "Human Genome Project", completed in 2003, have been able to map every gene in the human genome. We humans have an estimated 20,500 genes scattered around our 46 (23 pairs) chromosomes.
One of the concepts I want you to remember is that genes, in all organisms, are inherited from parents/ancestors. That means instructions for construction are passed from generation to generation. The offspring inherits its traits from the chromosomes/ genes passed to it from its parents. This is where Gregor Mendel did his experiments and established some laws of heredity.
Another concept vital to our discussion is that genes change, and that change is passed to the offspring. There are several ways a gene may change. It is not important for us to know or understand the how and why of gene mutation, only that it does happen, and has for billions of years. Further, genes are blind to the future. That means the change may be good, bad, or neutral. If the change helps survival of the offspring then the gene stays in the genome and in the gene pool of living organisms. That would be a successful gene. If the change is bad and the offspring does not survive that gene hits a dead end (a little pun). A neutral change just goes along for the ride. This is where Charles Darwin explained his laws of natural selection. This successful change of living organisms over time is called evolution.
Most of the 20,000 + genes that humans have are also found in other animals throughout the animal kingdom. Examples are genes that make bones, skin, muscle, and internal organs. Obviously humans have some new genes or we would not be a separate species. Essentially our genes have been passed up the evolutionary ladder from other animals to us humans. Some of our genes are billions of years old; some are only several thousand years old. We do in fact share over 99% of our genes with the chimpanzee. (The old saying, "I'll be a monkey's uncle" should be, "I'll be a monkey's nephew".)
Let's talk specifically about human reproduction, and inheritance. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 46 in all. 23 come from mom and 23 come from dad. The passing of chromosomes occurs during reproduction. 23 chromosomes are in the sperm and 23 chromosomes are in the egg. When the two gametes unite, an offspring with 46 chromosomes begins with half its instructions from mom and half its instructions from dad (sometimes causing no end of confusion).
The chromosomes in humans are numbered 1 – 23. The 23rd chromosome is the sex chromosome, and is called 'X' or 'Y'. One sex chromosome from each parent is passed to the offspring. In humans, the recipe for a male is X and Y, while the one for the female is X and X. Two things become obvious. First is the male has only one X, while the female has 2 Xs. Secondly, the male has a Y chromosome and the female has no Y chromosome. It is amazing how an X or Y can create such a different outcome.
To summarize: every cell contains material that guides the cell, that material is DNA. DNA contains the instructions for construction and behavior of an organism. Strands of DNA are called chromosomes, and sections of the chromosome are called genes. Genes control one step of the overall program, genes are passed (inherited) to the offspring, genes can change, and some genes are immortal. From the "Human Genome Project", we learned that humans carry over 20,000 genes. These genes were inherited from our ancestors over millions of years. Men and women are different by a factor of X or Y.
Insanity is inherited; you get it from your kids.
CHAPTER 3The Gene Pool
Now that you have a basic understanding of chromosomes, genes, and the genome it is time to discuss the 'gene pool'. The gene pool of life consists of all the genes that are alive and functioning today in all living things. That is a big pool. Generally speaking, today's pool is made up of many individual pools. The human gene pool has many of the same genes as all life forms, but we also have some genes specific only to humans. Men and women have their specific genes also, hence the Bettys and Bobs, and the Isadores and Isabellas of the world.
There we are, all living things bobbing up and down in life's pool. It would be nice if the pool were chlorinated, but it's not. It is a messy conglomeration of all biting, sucking, stinging, chewing and licking organisms. Every now and then, one of the groups gets pulled out and disappears. Occasionally some new thing jumps in.
Tough Enough
Our human genes are tough survivors. They have fought and lived to tell their tale. They are here because they work, they are successful, and they promote our species. There are ancient genes in this human pool and there are new genes in our pool. The guard in this pool does not allow any mistakes. If you die before you pass your genes to an offspring your genes are pulled from the pool and are gone forever. Most guards at a pool jump in to save a struggling person; just the opposite happens in life's gene pool. If you cannot survive on your own, your loser genes are pulled from the pool and thrown away, (and I thought water polo was tough.) Unfortunately, there are some vicious genes in our pool that I would like to see 'drowned' or 'yanked' from the pool, but they are tough survivors themselves. (Do we really need mosquitos?)
Darwin Awards
Darwin is generally given credit for the idea of 'survival of the fittest' as an aspect of evolution. On a somewhat dark humorous note, each year a list of 'Darwin' awards are given out. A group looks at the dumbest way an individual has died due to his or hers own folly. These genes are thus eliminated from the human gene pool before they can be passed on to another generation. This in turn is supposed to help the human advance as a more successful species with the removal of these 'folly' genes. There does not seem to be any benefit for carrying 'folly' genes, yet they show up year after year, and seem to be a human invention. Rarely do we see 'lower' animals involved with dare devil stunts. There is the occasional taunting and teasing of one animal to another in what appears to be animal humor. (I saw one video of a young monkey teasing young lions by hanging from a tree and pulling their tails.) Often times the winners of these awards have consumed large amounts of alcohol and there is some sort of live-or-die contest involved. Shooting an apple off one's head with a hunting bow and arrow comes to mind. Breaking into animal cages at the zoo is another award winner. Knives, guns, and explosives are frequently involved. Racing a train to a crossing may be a lethal event. Testing a used gas mask with lethal gas should be a no-no. Making a pipe bomb from a book is another mistake. For years only men achieved honors for the top ten Darwin awards, but lately women have found themselves award winners. There seems no end to the extent of what can only be called D.F.S. or 'dumb fucking stunts'. Trying to find an adequate adjective for ultimate stupidity is difficult. People can take themselves out of the human gene pool in amazingly, stupefying, absurd, inane, and insane ways. There are several web sites one can search with lists of dumb crooks, dumb stunts, and dumb ways that can cause injuries and extinction.
Mass Extinction
Millions of organisms that were once successful have been yanked out of the gene pool. Mass extinctions are still a puzzle to biologists. Whatever the reason, at least 70% of once living organisms have become extinct. Their unique genes were lost from the gene pool forever. The most commonly known extinction is that of the dinosaurs. The point I am making is that only the organisms that survive pass on their genes to future generations. When you think of all the events that have occurred on Earth over 4 billion years, the road to today's living organisms is really a kind of 'pin-ball' route.
Odd Genes
Presumably the genes in the human gene pool have some evolutionary benefit to humans. There are, however, humorous and not-so-helpful genes in the pool. What is up with being ticklish? What kind of advantage is that? Nerve endings that send a signal to your brain that stimulate a wiggle and a giggle? Then why can't you tickle yourself? Does spasmodic laughing help produce offspring? Humans carry left over genes from the past; ones that helped out our ancestors several million years ago but are no longer of use today. These may produce vestigial organs; examples are the appendix, wisdom teeth, tail bone, a third eye lid, and muscles to wiggle your ears.
Bummer Genes
Apparently there are genes in our pool that turn humans old. We have these great successful survivor genes only to have them break down and die. Fungus lives longer than we do. I was talking to a friend of mine and I asked him about the evolutionary advantage to us turning bald and gray. He pointed out that turning bald and gray was an advantage to ovulating women and our predators, not to men. Predators stalking the herds for prey can see the bald and gray members and know that they are the slower and weaker ones. In another cruel twist, being gray tells the young females looking for a big healthy sperm to not bother with the old guys. The old guys should not be reproducing so they are shunned by the chicks and predators can "glean" them from the pack.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Nature of Men and Women, The X and Y Factor, or I Didn't Say it was your Fault, I Said I was Going to Blame You by John West. Copyright © 2016 John West. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface, vii,Introduction, ix,
Chapter 1 The Beginning of Sex, 1,
Chapter 2 A Short Lesson on Genetics, 5,
Chapter 3 The Gene Pool, 8,
Chapter 4 The Delivery System, 12,
Chapter 5 Genetic Memory, Part 1, 17,
Chapter 6 A Box of Chocolates, 21,
Chapter 7 Nature vs. Nurture, 23,
Chapter 8 If It Looks Like a Duck, 30,
Chapter 9 What is a Man?, 33,
Chapter 10 What is a Woman?, 50,
Chapter 11 What is Love?, 66,
Chapter 12 Finding a Mate, 72,
Chapter 13 Marriage in the USA, 101,
Chapter 14 The Check list, 122,