A few years ago, I was your typical office-worker: stressed out, uneven energy, overweight, and inconsistent complexion. Now I'm just your typical 28-year old urban hunter-gatherer on a quest to be healthy, and having a few adventures along the way. See my full bio.
We all face decisions when to make exceptions. Here's one scenario. Say that it's Friday night and, as a fun, young social person in Manhattan, you're holed up at a coffee shop doing some writing. The very sweet girl who works there asks you out, giving you two cookies and her phone number. The question is: Do you eat the cookies?
The epidemiological studies give conflicting results, but my review of the anthropological record indicates that every hunter-gatherer male would, in fact, have eaten the cookies. I ate the cookies.
Comments
Eat the cookie if it comes
Eat the cookie if it comes from the hand of a pretty woman! I hope you two have a nice time together. Take her out for a steak dinner!
The cookie as the primordial
The cookie as the primordial man's apple. Those stories exist for a reason. I would have eaten the cookie.
Absolutely eat the cookies
Absolutely eat the cookies (unless you are allergic), otherwise you run the risk of the girl wondering if you are a snob. By the time you call her, she may have already pondered a few scenarios about why you didn't want to accept her hospitality & how she can gracefully escape the potential snobbery, so just eat the cookies, run an extra mile or whatever makes you feel like you are working off your indulgence and call the girl and invite her out to a Paleo-compatible place of your choosing.
It's official, I am addicted
It's official, I am addicted to this community...I can't sleep and am posting dating advice for the Paleo group... So, Option 2 involves making sure that she knows that you are interested in the cookies (and by extention, her), but not right now (for whatever reason). Here's how not to insult her with a lack of graciousness on your part, and you avoid eating junk food. Wrap up the cookies in a few napkins and leave them in plain view on your table. This shows her that you aren't immediately interested (as in not hungry) and thus not available for a reaction (down side: less reason to continue the flirting in the present situation). This option is inferior as the cookies are a test, both of her ability to judge your tastes, and of your openness to new experiences. While she wants to see and delight in your reaction (as it provides a bit of common ground to talk about and more reason to do the whole eye sex/flirting thing with her across the room), the general rule of thumb is be gracious (by eating the cookies or occasionally {as in once or twice} looking at the wrapped cookies and smiling to yourself...be sly though, overkill just makes you look desperate or insane if you are smiling to yourself about cookies, trust me, she'll notice or her co-workers will) and follow up with a thank you note on a napkin (also a good option if you are dating someone else and inadvertently misjudged previous flirting as harmless and not really flirting) or a phone call.
Well it's like Limp Bizkit
Well it's like Limp Bizkit said, "I DID IT ALL FOR THE COOKIE!!!" ...bad joke.
The real question is, did you
The real question is, did you call her? And I personally woulda ate the cookies. Girls giving cookies are just plumb adorable.
what do you usually drink at
what do you usually drink at a coffee shop? I guessing coffee is out of the question.
I usually order green tea. I
I usually order green tea. I find I write better on tea than coffee.
I do still have some coffee, but only work-related, only in the AM, and only black. And I try to drink it gradually, not all in one go.
Take the two cookies and
Take the two cookies and walk back to your table. Scan the room and find the best looking young las. When she's not looking, drop off one of the cookies on a napkin. Return to your seat, and casually bite into the remaining cookie. You've just doubled your odds Caveman. Everyone wins.
Yes, but what about the old
Yes, but what about the old hunting proverb: "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush."
There is also the Native
There is also the Native America proverb, "A hunter who chases two rabbits catches none."
You mean "every straight
You mean "every straight hunter-gatherer male"? What if you weren't (same situation)? Whatever the gender combination, I would follow the ancestral code of accepting food, and find a suitable way to tactfully reciprocate :-D
I haven't read extensively on
I haven't read extensively on the topic, but I would bet that gay/straight didn't manifest itself in the same way as we think about it today. Since I don't buy the Rich Uncle hypothesis (gay uncle perpetuates his genes by helping his relatives offspring), I'd be willing to bet all men were at least trying to get with women.
It's an interesting subject area -- but I take your point.
If the genes for being gay
If the genes for being gay are recessive, they could easily be passed along without being expressed in an organism's behavior. The gay/straight dichotomy is more of a continuum, really. I'd also add that studies have shown density-dependence on homosexual behavior in animals: dense populations have higher proportions of homosexual behavior. It may be an adaptation to reduce breeding and prevent over-population.
All men trying to get with
All men trying to get with women is possible, if also possibly overstating things... however, I wanted to say that there is at least some evidence of certain nomadic Native Americans having traditions of honoring those with different inclinations. You may want to read up on the history of "berdache." Some native americans find this term to be offensive and a hold over of European imperialism and identity politics, but then again, some people are reclaiming the term as their own, much like with Eve Ensler and the Vagina Monologues "Reclaiming Cunt" monologue. (Here are a bunch of links, some academic, some not... http://www.angelfire.com/on/otherwise/native.html)
Good (cave) man.
Good (cave) man.
In the moment, you did the
In the moment, you did the natural thing. Also, the polite thing. So, it was a good balance between the modern and the primal. Best case scenario: a funny story for your grandkids.
It's just a different form
It's just a different form of hunting! ;)
mating is indeed more
mating is indeed more important than avoiding a tiny bit of unhealthy food... :D...but if i were into conspiracy theories, i would wonder if that girl recognized you and just wanted to see if she could get you to eat cookies. ;D
Ha -- my co-workers have an
Ha -- my co-workers have an old photo of me happily eating a giant cookie. They are hoping I write a best-seller or get a TV show so they can blackmail me with it.