Name: Cute, sexy, sweet, funny
Uploaded: 2009-03-16T01:00:00Z
Duration: 7 min 31 s
Description: Why are babies cute? Why is cake sweet? Philosopher Dan Dennett has answers you wouldn't expect, as he shares evolution's counterintuitive reasoning on cute, sweet and sexy things (plus a new theory from Matthew Hurley on why jokes are funny).

Dan Dennett: Cute, sexy, sweet, funny

Cute, sexy, sweet, funny

Why are babies cute? Why is cake sweet? Philosopher Dan Dennett has answers you wouldn't expect, as he shares evolution's counterintuitive reasoning on cute, sweet and sexy things (plus a new theory from Matthew Hurley on why jokes are funny).

Our love for chocolate cake, adorable babies, and even jokes is shaped by natural selection, not by any intrinsic property of these things. Honey is sweet because our brains evolved to crave high-energy foods, not because sweetness exists independently. A study found that mothers prefer the smell of their own babies’ diapers, a vivid example of nature’s deep customization. This so-called 'strange inversion' shows that our likes and attractions come first—what we call sweet, cute, or funny follows from how we are wired.