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Biologists theorize that many risky, costly and apparently useless behaviors persist among animals because of what they communicate to potential mates, rivals and others. For example, an expensive Rolex watch may be no more useful or prettier than a Timex, but for some people it serves a function by creating an aura of wealth.
A field of evolutionary biology called signaling theory examines such behaviors.
“Honest signals” are defined as signals that are hard to fake and thus make better advertisements. For instance, the Rolex may not show true financial solidity; you might have just overdrawn your credit card or be running a Ponzi scheme.
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Slawomir Koziel of the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Anthropology in Wroclaw, Poland, and colleagues decided to explore whether body-decorated people actually do have better health than average.
They measured levels of bodily symmetry in 200 people with and without tattooes and unconventional piercings. Many scientists consider such symmetry as an indicator of healthy development.
Symmetry was significantly higher in the tattooed-and-pierced group, especially in men, the researchers found.
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