Close Minded Podcast
Close Minded Podcast
Ep 16 – “Eggs Are Expensive, Sperm Is Cheap” with Greg Krehbiel
0:00
-45:35

Ep 16 – “Eggs Are Expensive, Sperm Is Cheap” with Greg Krehbiel

In this episode we're going to talk about some things that will get you kicked out of polite society.

It's progressive and fashionable these days to talk about the Patriarchy and the oppression of women, their hard-won equality from the shackles of home life, and the immense sexual power than men wield over women in society. But what if everything our culture believes about these things is wrong? What if traditional morality and gender roles actually function as protections for women and limitations for men? What if most of the sexual power in a society is actually controlled by women? What if these claims are self-evident if you slow down and think clearly about them? What if you can arrive at these conclusions without once referencing religion?

All of Krehbiel's thoughts riff off a fundamental concept found in the book's title: Eggs are expensive and sperm is cheap. That is, women have a finite number of eggs to reproduce with, and the costs of having a child--measured in time, energy and other personal restrictions--are significantly more than the costs to men. Men have the physical capacity to father literally hundreds of children, while women do not. So, cast in evolutionary terms, society has an innate desire to protect women and consider men expendable.

This makes women the de facto gatekeepers of sex and, therefore, relationships. The "economics of sex" is a fascinating study in how men and women respond differently to incentives.

Once you accept the basic premise, you realize how much it informs the way cultures have developed in a myriad of ways. Instead of being repressive and misogynistic, the so-called "traditional" moral norms that have prevailed through most of human history make perfect sense in light of this principle. And so, because "eggs are expensive and sperm is cheap," we fight wars with men and not women; we harness the raw sexual energies of men and channel what would otherwise be destructive power into a constructive life of service to a wife and kids; we unashamedly treat men and women differently because they are different.

This book was a delight to read. It is witty, clever, and absolutely unapologetic in its skewering of politically correct modern ideas about men and women, human sexuality, dating and marriage, and general social cohesion. If you recognize that men and women are genuinely different, this book provides a very readable--and very rational--discussion of the topic.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Kindle or paperback edition of "Eggs Are Expensive, Sperm Is Cheap: 50 Politically Incorrect Thoughts For Men"

"Keep Your Hands To Yourself" by the Georgia Satellites

"The Economics of Sex" - A very informative and helpful YouTube video

Greg's blog - www.crowhill.net/blog

Greg's other books - www.crowhill-publishing.com

Juicy Quotes from Greg's Book

Discussion about this podcast

Close Minded Podcast
Close Minded Podcast
“Close Minded? Isn't that sort of narrow and negative?”<br />
<br />
At first glance, that's certainly a reasonable reaction. (But it got your attention, didn't it?) However, the name of the show is not just a marketing tactic, but rooted in a deep truth.<br />
<br />
G.K. Chesterton once wrote the following:<br />
<br />
“Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”<br />
<br />
A hallmark of maturity is the ability to hold up an idea you don't necessarily agree with and scrutinize it, to evaluate it dispassionately without having to own it for yourself.<br />
<br />
Another sign of maturity is one's willingness to engage a wide variety of ideas and topics without being frightened away just because someone shouts “problematic!”–whether it be a Twitter mob, a self-hating Social Justice Warrior on Facebook, or even your own tribe.<br />
<br />
So around here we aren't afraid to discuss lots of ideas, regardless of our actual positions:<br />
<br />
Political anarchism? Check.<br />
Human sexuality? Check.<br />
Trump as an existential dictatorial threat to Western Civilization? Check.<br />
Darwinism and Intelligent Design? Check.<br />
The intersection of technology and philosophy? Check.<br />
<br />
But there's more! We also aren't interested in claims that certain genres of literature are “uncool.” Who cares?<br />
<br />
We are readers. Avid readers of wide-ranging works. Readers who cultivate what Tolkien called “the leaf mold” of the mind, the topsoil of our moral imagination and creativity.<br />
<br />
We aren't embarrassed to enjoy “kid lit” and YA fiction, or afraid to read sociological & political works that challenge our assumptions. We enjoy classic novels, hard-boiled crime thrillers, controversial works of theology & culture, economics, productivity & personal development. We are not bound by social or political convention.<br />
<br />
We “read for pleasure in an age of distraction” (Alan Jacobs). We consume and engage books for stimulation, conviction & enrichment. We want to stretch our minds, grow in empathy, & experience the joys & challenges of reading good books.<br />
<br />
We read with an open mind in order to close it on something.<br />
<br />
--------------------------------<br />
<br />
“But wait! Shouldn't it be CloseD Minded (with a d)?”<br />
<br />
Welcome, fellow grammar nerd, to my tortured existence. I do happen to believe that “Closed Minded” is preferable to “Close Minded”–and thus, I die a little bit inside each time I say or write it. HOWEVER, I went with “Close Minded” for two reasons. First, technically both are considered acceptable–see here and here. Second, when I compared the Google search results for both spellings, “Close” had exponentially more hits, so I followed the basic rules of internet marketing and went with what people are actually searching for.<br />
<br />
Case close, er, closed.<br />
<br />
Subscribe here: www.closemindedpodcast.com/subscribe