Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?

April 2, 2012
Bering, a research psychologist, columnist for ScientificAmerican.com, and contributor to Slate and NPR, gathers 30 eclectic essays from Scientific American and Slate that address numerous human activities, such as human sexuality, with an evolutionary spin. He explains, among others, why men masturbate (to expel older sperm that might have less power to impregnate than newer sperm); the prevalence of sexual fantasies (“everyone tends to imagine someone—or something—else when they are having sex with their partner”); the evolutionary advantages of premature ejaculation; and the relationship between a woman’s orgasms and her partner’s status and looks. Bering is often personal, and always takes a wry approach to his topics, but despite the inherent prurient interest that invariably attaches to human sexuality, he is a rationalist and his insights and opinions are always supported by science. And he isn’t all about sex: his essays tackle the “adaptive” aspect of suicide, the penchant for believing Christians to contribute more to charity on Sundays than on other days, and even free will. These entertaining essays offer a cornucopia of ideas that will reward readers with hours of conversational gambits. Agent: Peter Tallack, the Science Factory.

August 1, 2012
Research psychologist Bering (The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life, 2011, etc.) tackles touchy subjects with aplomb and humor in this snappy compilation of essays. The book is divided into eight sections, each devoted to a single theme "sampling the astounding oddities of simply being human." These include the male reproductive anatomy, little-known facts about our bodies, brain science, sexual paraphilias, fetishes and conditions, the bodies and minds of women, homosexuality, how religion is intertwined with our psychology, and suicide and the meaning of life. Many of the essays were previously published in another form in the author's columns in Scientific American and Slate. Each essay offers a concise, illuminating overview to such queries as "how our coveted free will articulates with our genitalia," or whether it is "really possible for an otherwise normal, healthy person to develop a genuine sexual preference for a nonhuman species." The author also ponders whether suicide could be an adaptive behavioral strategy or "how people's everyday reasoning about free will, particularly in the moral domain, influences their social behavior and attitudes." Bering admits that he doesn't delve into every aspect or all dissenting views surrounding each topic, but he includes endnotes for readers hungry for more insight. The author adroitly weaves together previous scholarly ideas and case studies with current research on his subject matter, then tops it off with his own idiosyncratic approach. At the beginning, he writes, "let me start by offering a full disclosure: my perspective is that of a godless, gay, psychological scientist with a penchant for far-flung evolutionary theories." An accessible, lively, thought-provoking book for anyone curious about what it means to be human.

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April 15, 2012

Drawn from his Scientific American blog, Bering in Mind, and Slate, this collection of essays by columnist and psychologist Bering (director, Inst. of Cognition & Culture, Queen's Univ., Belfast, Ireland; The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life) for the most part addresses issues related to sexuality, though some pieces also discuss cannibalism, suicide, and religious belief. Bering tackles interesting questions about the biology and psychology of human sexuality from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. He reflects on the virtues of semen, elucidates the connection between sex and sleepwalking, questions why humans masturbate so much, and more. VERDICT Similar to Olivia Judson's Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex, this humancentric book leaves no topic off the table for consideration. Anyone interested in reading about the latest developments in sex research told with a generous dose of self-deprecating humor will enjoy this essay collection.

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