The belief that evolved traits are unchangeable (biological determinism) is false. Poor eyesight is genetic but easily fixed with glasses. Conversely, the inefficient QWERTY keyboard layout, a learned behavior, is extremely difficult to change due to collective habit, demonstrating that 'learned' does not mean 'easy to change'.
An emotion word like 'anger' doesn't refer to a single internal feeling but is a label for a collection of social episodes typical for that emotion in a culture. For example, Japanese 'ikari' often involves understanding the other person, while American 'anger' involves opposition and asserting injustice.
Emotions are not universal but culturally scripted. When an immigrant's emotional responses don't align with the majority culture's norms, it can be misinterpreted, leading to negative consequences like being passed over for promotions, social exclusion, and poorer school performance.
The concept of a universal "mating market" is flawed because attractiveness is highly subjective. As people get to know each other, their agreement on who is desirable drops to a mere 53%, barely better than chance. One person's '10' is unlikely to be someone else's.
While surveys show women rate ambition in partners higher than men do, behavioral studies like speed dating reveal both genders equally prefer ambitious partners, choosing them 60% of the time. What people say they want versus what they actually choose are two different things.
Despite claims from dating apps, machine learning and similarity matching fail to predict romantic compatibility. Compatibility isn't about finding a perfect match based on pre-existing traits; it's about actively building a unique "tiny culture" of rituals, jokes, and shared history together over time.