Here's another over-dinner story for ya, one that amuses me and might amuse you (or infuriate you, depending on your confirmation bias). :-)
It turns out that in multiple experiments done with multiple mammals -- ranging from rats to lions and tigers and bears (oh my) to humans, there is a one- to-one link between promiscuity and having a better sense of direction. Those mammals who get it on more, and with more partners, have a significantly better chance of finding their way home afterwards than those mammals who are monogamous or not gettin' any. Bottom line is that in experiments done with mazes and involving taking the animals (and humans) out of their familiar surroundings and forcing them to find their way back, the swingers had a significantly better sense of direction (and thus, in animals, a better chance of survival) than the prudes. The ones (both human and animal) who scored the lowest and became completely lost, unable to find their way home at all, were those who were not gettin' any at all. How's that for "Darwin in action" and self- removing a defective set of genes from the gene pool, eh? :-) This phenomenon may explain many things in spiritual traditions. Is it possible that those who "clump together" in ashrams or in reclusive communities would tend to be either monogamous or celibate? Is it possible that the reason that some of these people rarely *leave* the ashram or reclusive community is that they're afraid they won't be able to find their way home again if they do? Is it possible that the "lost" vibe many of us get coming from the self- professed celibates on this forum are because they're really...uh...lost? Questions to ponder... :-)
