I was very sad to learn that the comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman have broken up. I always thought that they were a great couple, a perfect match made in politically incorrect heaven.

What do Bill Gates and Paul McCartney have in common with criminals? In my last series (Why are almost all criminals men? Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV), I explain why men are so much more likely to commit violent and property crimes than women. It turns out, however, that there is nothing special about criminals. All men are essentially the same.

In my last post, I present Campbell’s “staying alive” theory of female criminality, which contends, among other things, that women steal less, and less frequently, than men do, because women only steal what they need to survive, whereas men steal partly to show off and impress women with their increased resources.  Something happened to me five years ago which perfectly illustrates this point.

Why do some women commit crimes?

In the last two posts (Part I, Part II), I explain the evolutionary psychological logic behind male criminality, why men in polygynous societies are compelled to engage in interpersonal violence and property crimes in order to gain reproductive access to women. While an overwhelming majority of criminals in every human society are men, there are some exceptions; some women do commit crimes. Given the evolutionary psychological logic, however, why would any woman commit crimes at all?

Why do men commit property crimes?

In my last post, I explain how evolutionary psychological logic can explain why men in polygynous societies are compelled to commit interpersonal violence of murder, assault, and rape. (And, remember, all human societies are polygynous to various degrees, whether simultaneously or serially.) But how can evolutionary psychology explain property crimes?

Why do men commit violent interpersonal crimes?

In every single human society without an exception, men commit an overwhelming majority of all crimes and acts of violence. Why is this? Why are men so much more criminal and violent than women?

When Hugh Grant was arrested in June 1995 with a prostitute named Devine Brown, the whole nation gasped in disbelief and asked the same question: “Why would any straight man in the right mind cheat on Elizabeth Hurley?” The same question crossed the nation’s mind when it emerged, two years ago, that Christie Brinkley filed for divorce from her husband because he cheated on her with an 18-year-old. Why would anybody cheat on the original Uptown Girl?

Whom are newborn babies said to resemble?

In my last post, I suggested that babies may be born looking more like the father than the mother, although the experimental evidence is so far inconclusive. There is a related finding that is much less controversial and well replicated, however, and that is the question of whom newborn babies are said to resemble.

Who do newborn babies resemble?

Imagine that you are a genome, and you are about to write instructions for how to create a brand new baby. Half of your genes come from the mother, and the other half come from the father. You are equally related to both parents. Now, if you have a choice between making the baby you are creating look like the mother or look like the father, what would you do? Would you make the baby resemble the mother or the father or both equally?

Are mothers always good parents?

In the last two posts (Part I, Part II), I explain why mothers are on average more committed and hence better parents to their children than fathers. However, this does not mean that mothers are always better parents; there are exception. Even then, however, evolutionary psychology can shed light on the exception which proves the rule.