1. What's the evolutionary advantage of offering your place to an old woman on a bus?

Comment #83084 by NLN on October 28, 2007 at 10:17 pm

Evolution promotes competition between members of the same species, but also favors species whose members collectively help protect one-another from danger and common enemies.

I suggest that there is an evolutionary advantage for human males to be "nice" to females, since females carry the responsibility of bearing children. A pregnant female is more vulnerable, and since it is not always readily apparent which female is pregnant, being polite to all helps assure the safe status of all our collective offspring.

Although old women can no longer bear children, they certainly contribute to their upbringing. Males may have become conditioned to respond kindly to all women.