One of the best books I read this year was 'Spent' by @primalpoly. Highlighted so many bits that Kindle cut me off, which has never happened before! Of the many intriguing and controversial ideas, here are a few favourite nuggets: 
I love the concept of ‘cost density’. The basics of life are ridiculously cheap, at less than $2 a pound. We reach the “magical realms of consumer narcissism” once we pass silver bullion ($225 a pound), where we start to find products designed for flaunting or faking fitness.
Living doesn’t cost much, but showing off does: Above the cost density of gold, you have Rolexes, gems, Ivy League degrees, performance drugs (Viagra, Botox), and pleasure drugs (cocaine, heroin, LSD). Only requirements-for-life in the same range are gametes and organs:
People who buy luxury products see the high price as a BENEFIT, not a cost - if everyone could afford them, they would no longer be useful signals. It’s the human equivalent of the peacock’s tail (which made Darwin feel sick!)
Why did marathons lose their signalling power? Because they’re too ‘easy’, too cheap, and result in physiques resembling half-sucked cough lollies:
...which is why triathlons got so popular instead! (the insanely jacked dude is multisport athlete Alex Viada)
Buuut doing exercise is HARD so most people just groom themselves neatly and wear snazzy clothes to demonstrate their conscientiousness. If you’re ever feeling down on yourself, just remember that it’s all relative:
HOLY SHIT THIS IS WHY EVERY PERSON ON TINDER COMPETES OVER WHO LOVES DOGS MORE
IQ is one of the most sexually attractive traits in every culture studied, for both sexes 🤓💦💦
Relevant to the IQ debate: people who say intelligence ‘doesn’t exist’ because it describes a cluster of related variables instead of being some platonic blob you can poke with a stick are kind of missing the point (but is it really a blegg?) lesswrong.com/posts/yA4gF5Kr…
Elite college degrees are basically just insanely expensive IQ tests (à la @bryan_caplan)
IQ is such a powerful predictor of performance that it still kinda makes sense to go through the whole rigamarole. This also explains all sorts of other weird stuff, like learning Latin:
...gonna leave it there but there’s so much more, including a handy overview of the Big Five, huge-if-true theories about parasite load and xenophobia/politics, a smackdown of Jungian personality types, lots of great sneers, and even some tax reform stuff for the policy wonks.
Here’s a link to Spent on Amazon: amazon.com/Spent-Sex-Evol… And on Goodreads: goodreads.com/book/show/6283… Thanks to @sonniebailey for the recommendation.
