A researcher in Australia has recently discovered that Toxoplasma gondii infection alters people's behavior. Infected men have lower IQs, take more risks, are more anti-social, and are generally less attractive to women. Women tend to take more risks (are more outgoing, more promiscuous), and are more attractive to men. No word on their IQs.
Okay, so I find the fact that they focused on the "wowzer! men and women react differently!" to the infection aspect (the case could be made that men and women react differently to the same behavior in the opposite sex) a little annoying.
But could this be behind that certain je ne sais quoi of French women?
Eating raw meat, a main transmission route, is very common in France, and about 85% of the population are have been infected with the disease. Of course, French men are supposed to be all seductive. And, so far as I know, cat ladies and gardeners are not known for their sexual magnetism.
So anyway, read the article here
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Perhaps French men are more "seductive" because they have lower IQs and take more risks.
ReplyDeleteWell, the article was of the opinion that that kind of behavior was unattractive to women, though of course it's generally the risk-takers who sometimes succeed. Maybe women approach French men with a slightly different set of expectations which works/developed in tandem with an increased likelihood that they will be hit on.
ReplyDeleteStill, I wonder about the gardeners and the cat ladies. Is it just that most people get tp from eating raw meat and they are already more adventurous. Or does the parasite have different effects on the brain depending on pre-existing characteristics of the person who is infected. Or do cat ladies just smell funny? Or cat guys. Are there cat guys?
I'll just be glad when I don't have to avoid salad any more.