When Darwin joins for a coffee!

A very fresh attempt of trying something, out of my writing style. I normally write science blogs with a different tone. But this time,

I am just giving life to one of the imaginary conversations that happened inside my head many days back.

Hope you find it intriguing.

Only hindrance I had in turning those conversations into a blog is that people become judgemental and people tend to think these all happened in the writer’s life. But, let me be more specific, I would be the happiest person if this has happened in actual life. As reality of life is not that interesting, I started creating my own worlds. So, read this imagining an unknown X and Y.

Scenario: Two colleagues were highly interested in evolutionary studies and their discussion and arguments, more of a sapiosexual kind. Let us name them X and Y. X- a girl and Y- a boy. Both of them had a mutual attraction towards each other though none revealed. The funniest part in it is that, though both didn’t express, both had that hint about other’s feelings. This went for days and the girl finally was about to marry someone else. X called Y over the phone to join for a cup of coffee, so that she could invite him formally to her wedding, and that’s when this conversation occured.

(To understand the conversation in detail, read the below conversation with the theory of sexual selection at the backdrop)

X: Hi.

Y: Hi, so finally I found my phone ringing with your name.

X: (Smiles). Coffee or tea?

Y: (mindvoice: what I asked and what she says! hopeless) Coffee.

X: My wedding has been fixed.

Y: (with a unexpressed shock) That’s great… So, finally, found your mate.. the fittest male?!

X: In a sense, yes.

Y: What was the female preference that the potential mate has met, while other males failed?

X: Oh…. fine… a good question but I didn’t interpret your intended meaning before! But remember all selected mates by females need not be the best among all the leftovers.

Y: You mean female selects an unfit mate too? You are putting Darwin’s theory at risk now.

X: No, you should also note that the female can only select from the group of males that display and involves itself in the selection process. However fit a male maybe, if it is not interested or making that effort to display, the female can’t make a choice. So, the female selects the fittest among those that are willing to display.

(gives him a meaningful gaze and silence prevails for a while)

Y: Oh… (A long pause and an awkward silence)

Waiter: Your coffee.

(Both sips the coffee)

Y: Ok, I agree that it is the male’s fault of not participating in the display to impress the female. But, when the female knows that there is yet another potential mate, why can’t she wait?

X: What? Female knows?? How come a female know? I don’t get you.

Y: Sorry. Sorry. Like… why not female wait when there are chances for another even more potential mate?

X: I think a tradeoff happens. A female can’t keep waiting for too long. It is a loss for female if the particular breeding season passes.

(Y interrupts with smile)

Y: Breeding season??

X: I believe we are speaking about birds or animals!

Y: Ya ya… right, we are speaking about birds or animals.. proceed…

X: The only thing a female can do is to take time and judge among the displaying males. Only way female gets to know about the potential of mate is by their display. How come a mate that doesn’t even display be considered for evaluation of fitness?

Y: Yes.. sounds meaningful. Darwin is right, males should be promiscuous and even females prefer that, I think.

X: Woah. That’s not what I intended. Females don’t prefer promiscious males, and Darwin didn’t tell males ‘should’ be promiscuous. He said males are promiscuous because promiscious males have more fitness for themselves. Promiscuos males would not wait so long to display. If ‘you’ showed that behaviour… (awkward silence) sorry, I meant if males showed that behaviour and indulged in a display, there would be chances that the male would have been selected, ie the so-called fittest male you said would have had chances for being selected. When the fittest male keeps waiting for the right time, females are helpless.

Y: (looks into her eyes). Yes.. females are helpless! So, I know you are a sapiosexual and would have prefered someone with whom you could have intellectual conversations. What is your partner doing?

X: You are partially right, I am of course a sapiosexual and would love intellectual conversations. But… you know sexual selections are weird and scientists have never found on what basis a female sees a male be a fit.

Y: But, I didn’t get an answer to my question. I was actually interested in knowing whom you selected.

X: (sees him with silence and smiles)

Y: looking at her with questions filled eyes.

The fiance of X enters and waves a Hi. After a formal introduction with one another,

Fiance: What’s up man?

Y: We were speaking about sexual selection.

Fiance: what is that?

A moment of pause.

Y : (looking at X but answering to the other man) It is weird!

Fiance: oh.. ok let it be. I think, it’s going to rain and we should take leave if you don’t mind.

Y: Yes, sure.

X: (looks at his eyes) bye.

Y: Never knew sexual selections are this weird!

X: smiles… that’s why Darwin spent the sleepless nights looking at the peahen’s feathers.

Y: Haha… An insightful man, he should have suffered a lot!

X: Bye.

Y: Bye.

Hope you enjoyed this blog. Let me know what is your opinion about sexual selection. This is one of the weird conversations that happened in my head. Did you find it interesting?

I think, now people could understand my silence. I am engaged with a great or nonsense conversation inside my head.