Two Sexes is Inefficient

Many fungi are sexual, but they do not have males. They have tens of thousands of different sexes, all physically identical, all capable of mating on equal terms. but all incapable of mating with themselves. Even among animals there are many, such as the earthworm, that are hermaphrodites. To 3e sexual does not necessarily imply the need for sexes, let alone for just two sexes, let alone for two sexes as different as men and women. Indeed, at first sight, the most foolish system of all is two sexes because it means that fully 50 percent of the people you meet are incompatible as breeding partners. If we were hermaphrodites, everybody would be a potential partner. If we had ten thousand sexes, as does the average toadstool, 99 percent of those we meet would be potential partners. If we had three sexes, two-thirds would be available. It turns out that the Red Queen's solution to the problem of why people are sexual is only the beginning of a long story.

Notes:

Fungi have thousands of different sexes, making almost everyone a potential partner, for humans, 50% of people are not potential partners.

Folksonomies: evolution culture sex fungi

Taxonomies:
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Entities:
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The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Ridley , Matt (2003-05-01), The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature, Harper Perennial, Retrieved on 2011-05-03

Folksonomies: evolution culture sex evolutionary psychology