"Hey Guys: Big Testes Might Be Indicator of Small Brain"

[bloom]

I thought this might be interesting to the feminist group. :)

" Men are often accused of having a one-track mind. When filled with lust, it seems they simply cannot think of anything else.
Now scientists have found there really may be a direct relationship between the male brain and his private parts. They found evidence that males can create plenty of sperm or lots of brain cells, but not both.

As a result it seems, in bats at least, that large testicles go together with tiny brains. A study published Thursday looked at 334 different bat species to see if brain size was linked to reproductive organs.

Among many species of bats, females are highly promiscuous, and when the researchers looked at the reproductive organs of these species, they found the males have evolved enormous testicles.Some make up 8.5 percent of their body mass, compared to a maximum of 0.75 percent in primates such as apes....

But they also found that bats with large reproductive organs have smaller brains than species where females are more faithful...."

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=40031

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I think it's pretty interesting - esp. if there were relevance to humans. The idea that men would have larger brains when the women are more monogamous. It kind of makes you wonder if there isn't something to the idea that men feel threatened by the idea of promiscuous women (besides what you would normally think). Many things in society point to that - the implication of words - for one thing - slut, whore, bitch, etc.

Apparently the men's promiscuity is irrelevant - or they just didn't address that issue.

[Hello_Kitty]

1. I read that on another blog the other day

I about died laughing but you're right that they will try to link this to humans and use it to confirm gender stereotypes. Look out for a slew of articles warning us of the dire consequences of women's sexual freedom based on this. Masculinity is imperiled once again! It'll be funny, though, watching them try to reconcile which is preferable, men having lots of sex but big balls and small brains or men having less sex but being smarter. Both of those are the cherished illusions. Men are supposed to be oversexed AND mentally superior! Now it's one or the other.....Oh the horror! :rofl:

Also, think about the poor Right wingers....They'd dearly love to use this study to justify keeping uppity sluts in line but that would require them to endorse evolution.

[bloom]

2. "Men are supposed to be oversexed AND mentally superior!"

One man I discussed this study with said that "smart" men won't ever do a study to see if there is a correlation between intelligence and sex organ size - because they are too smart!! ha ha!


I've noticed that fundy/literalists will use evolution when it suits their purposes.

[cally]

3. LOL...This study is funny. I love your lines:

Men are supposed to be oversexed AND mentally superior! Now it's one or the other.....Oh the horror!

:rofl:

[politicat]

4. From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes perfect sense.

We know that men produce a greater quantity of sperm by volume when they have been separated from their partners for more than 24 hours (i.e. when the partner has had the opportunity to "stray"), and of that extra quantity, a significant percentage is not actually viable, but rather seems to knot up and work altruistically to "secure the pathway" to the ovum. It's an evolutionary strategy to defeat a competitor's chances to reproduce. Lots of semi-monogamous species do the high quantity sperm thing. (Paraphrased from Taylor, Tim: The Prehistory of Sex and from The Red Queen (which author I'm not remembering ATM) and Hrdy, Sarah, The Woman that Never Evolved)

So, if the male of a species is putting that much energy into the reproductive strategy, there's no point in investing a large amount of very expensive calories and protein and especially fat (the brain requiring large amounts of fat to run on) in a larger brain when a smaller one will do the same amount of work.

Only when the reproductive strategy is satisfied - and since the #1 item on the agenda for every species is to reproduce - can the investment be made in brains.

Maybe it's a good way to look at a potential hetero mate, though. If his body has put so much energy into his reproductive strategy....

However, I'd really like to see a family study on testicle size through generations. In humans, it may be a genetic legacy rather than a reproductive strategy now.

[atommom]

5. Very entertaining study. Maybe we should bring this up the next time

someone demands that the Dems "grow a bigger pair." :rofl:

[geniph]

6. They missed the obvious correlation:

Men with big droopy balls are so unattractive and/or annoying, they drive women to promiscuity. ;-)