Scott critiques evolutionary explanations for suitor-parent disagreements in mate choice, proposing that suitors use innate instincts while parents rely on reasoning, leading to different preferences.
Longer summary
Scott Alexander critiques Dynomight's theories on why suitors and parents disagree about mate choice. He argues that evolutionary psychology explanations are insufficient, proposing instead that suitors rely on innate, finely-tuned instincts for mate selection, while parents use less-evolved human reasoning. This difference in decision-making processes leads to systematically different preferences. Scott also explores the complexity of human drives related to reproduction, questioning whether they exist at different cognitive 'levels' (reptilian, mammalian, human) and how they interact.
Shorter summary