On January 19, 2024, our Zoom program featured Linda Melchionne discussing Richard O. Prum’s Pulitzer Prize finalist book, The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin’s Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World – and Us. An evolutionary biologist and ornithologist, Prum dusts off Darwin’s long-neglected theory of mate selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons—for the mere pleasure of it— is an independent engine of evolutionary change.
Mate choice can set the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time.
The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature’s splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.
Linda Melchionne is a farmer’s daughter who first studied horse husbandry at SUNY Cobleskill. She enrolled at Cal Polytechnic where ornithology and zoology comparative studies created a niche for her work at the San Diego Zoo research laboratory concerning the California Condor. She moved to Utah and studied biochemistry and nutrition with Nobel nominee Dr. Joe Street and worked as a veterinary researcher. She is a licensed medical scientist and has worked with many different medical professionals including vaccine production and testing. Now retired, she still enjoys reading research papers and listening to lectures about the latest developments in medicine and the environment.
