Review: Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?: And Other Reflections on Being Human

Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?: And Other Reflections on Being Human by Jesse Bering

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A few months ago, I noticed myself just looking at good-looking guys (some of whom used to make my heart palpitate a bit) and feeling nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was then that I realized that I must be getting old, since just a decade ago, butterflies in my chest and stomach were a constant whenever I would come face-to-face with a "potential mate" (in the Filipino language there is a word for this: kilig).

And so I reflected on it. Maybe, I theorized, evolution has dictated that female thirty-somethings should have long concluded their "mate-hunting" phase and should instead focus on rearing healthy offspring (who would, in turn, ensure the health of the global population). Stomach butterflies, in this case, are only for those females who have yet to choose "dependable and loyal" mates destined to help them rear those little gene-passers. Okay, plausible answer.

So this is the kind of mind I have (and I will not apologize for it), and the kind of mind I wish to encourage in my future offspring (a questioning, not salacious, mind, MIND YOU). This is also the kind of (nerdy) mind that would be intrigued with Dr. Jesse Bering's Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That: And Other Reflections on Being Human. Needless to say, I enjoyed his essays (and evidence-based theories) immensely.

Now I must admit that there were some topics in the book that made me uncomfortable (I will not enumerate them here lest I be accused of prudery). They still make me uncomfortable now that I have finished the book. Nevertheless, I think Bering was right in saying that "the great thing about good science is that it's amoral and objective and doesn't cater to the court of public opinion." He further pointed out (and rightly so): "Data don't cringe; people do."

Some of the concepts that Bering introduced (I don't know and can't verify at the moment if these are new, by the way), such as "green burial" and "animal laughter," were really thought-provoking (I am now seriously considering of someday having myself buried, not with a non-biodegradable coffin, but with a shroud—and a special acacia tree planted above me). I was also interested in Bering's scientific examination of the suicide phenomenon and his reflections thereafter: "If there is one thing I've learned since those very dark days of my suicidal years, it's that scientific knowledge changes perspective. And perspective changes everything. Everything. And, as I alluded to at the start, always remember: you're going to die soon anyway; even if it's a hundred years from now, that's still a blink of a cosmic eye. In the meantime, live like a scientist—even a controversial one with only a colleague or two in all the world—and treat life as a grand experiment, blood, sweat, tears, and all. Bear in mind that there's no such thing as a failed experiment—only data."

This book is definitely not for the moralists and the faint of heart. But for those who are open to learn about (and subsequently discuss) usually "icky" topics, Dr. Bering's book is one hell of a joyride.



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