5 Quotes & Sayings By Robert Trivers

Robert Trivers is an evolutionary biologist, most famous for his work on the evolution of mating systems (i.e., mating strategies). He is the author of many books, including Social Evolution, Parental Investment, and The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism.

1
The offspring cannot rely on its parents for disinterested guidance. One expects the offspring to be preprogrammed to resist some parental manipulation while being open to other forms. When the parent imposes an arbitrary system of reinforcement (punishment and reward) in order to manipulate the offspring to act against its own best interests, selection will favor offspring that resist such schedules of reinforcement. Robert Trivers
2
A very disturbing feature of overconfidence is that it often appears to be poorly associated with knowledge - that is, the more ignorant the individual, the more confident he or she might be. Robert Trivers
3
The great sage Thales once put the general matter succinctly "Oh master, " he was asked, "what is the most difficult thing to do?" "To know thyself", he replied. "And the easiest?" "To give advice to others. Robert Trivers
4
Revolutionary moments often seem to occur in history when large numbers of individuals have a change in consciousness, regarding themselves and their status Robert Trivers