A Taste for the Beautiful: The Evolution of Attraction Tapa dura - 2018

Descripción de contraportada

"In this engaging book, Michael Ryan explores why all animals look for beauty in the opposite sex. Using his studies of Central American frogs as a jumping-off point, he expertly guides us through new discoveries and ideas about how brains have evolved to yearn for the beautiful. Surprisingly, what female frogs admire in their male suitors illuminates our own desires and attractions."--Virginia Morell, author of the New York Times bestseller Animal Wise: How We Know Animals Think and Feel

"We say 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' Turns out, beauty is in the brain. The brain decides what strikes us as beautiful. This book raises and answers an astonishing set of questions: What is the perception called beauty? How did our brains acquire it? On what basis do our brains inform us about what is beautiful? And why does a peacock's tail seem beautiful to both a peahen and a person? This is a profound, often amazing, book. It's, well, beautiful."--Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel

"Written by a distinguished scientist and filled with fascinating stories, this book presents the revelation that, for very good evolutionary reasons, beauty is in the mind, as well as the eye, of the beholder."--Peter R. Grant, coauthor of 40 Years of Evolution: Darwin's Finches on Daphne Major Island

"This lovely book delves into the origins and perception of beauty--sensations that generate specific reward responses in the brain. Ranging from neurobiology to behavior and psychology, Mike Ryan seamlessly integrates animal and human data. He also describes how science works, which is more important now than ever."--John Endler, Deakin University, Australia

"This is a superb book on one of the most powerful selective forces in nature--the taste for beauty, especially the female preference for male beauty. Want to learn about smell and sex, the deeper meaning of bodily symmetry, or color vision as a route to emotionally understanding others? You have come to the right place. Michael Ryan weaves together all of this and much more to produce a beautiful tapestry on the meaning of beauty in nature."--Robert Trivers, author of Deceit and Self-Deception: Fooling Yourself the Better to Fool Others

"I loved this book! In this authoritative, informative, and entertaining popular science account of the biological basis of sexual beauty, Michael Ryan, a master of the subject, draws on his own pioneering work and seamlessly integrates it with other studies. The book shows how a deep understanding of the mechanisms of mate choice in nature help us to better understand ourselves."--Daniel T. Blumstein, University of California, Los Angeles

"This is a book for anyone who wants to know more about the mysteries of sexual selection. Michael Ryan guides readers through the complex and fascinating path of the evolution of beauty with the authority of somebody who is responsible for some of the subject's most important milestones."--Leonida Fusani, University of Vienna and University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria

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• Choice, 09/01/2018, Page 0
• Kirkus Reviews, 12/01/2017, Page 0
• Publishers Weekly, 12/04/2017, Page 0