Rex Kerr
2 min readMar 27, 2023

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Okay, I've had a chance to review. This is what I think I see--can you please confirm that this looks (approximately) right?

(1) You quote Hrdy and cite the passage. Neither she nor you make any claims about consequences: this just sets background knowledge.

(2) You make a claim that being "loved and safe" is more important, and support it with a quote from a linked Psychology Today article that does not itself support its statements by linking to any studies (as far as I could find). So we have a claim, but no research.

(3) You make a claim about eating together. I cannot find any citation. The Psych Today article is not the source for the claim. Maybe it's Hrdy? You don't have a supporting quote.

(4) You cite Hrdy to make a claim about children needing three secure relationships. (My characterization is wrong here, if we grant that Hrdy is very likely to have good support for what she writes in books. It's technically correct that this is not a "direct reference" but one could argue that this is too high a standard. Sorry.)

(5) You make general claims about the structure of prehistoric human society, with no citation, but it's widely accepted now and not the topic, so this is fine.

(6) You make claims about economic impact, linking to marripedia.org, which does reference its claims. (This is a clear example of my characterization being wrong: it is a claim, and you did support it, not directly but directly enough so anyone should easily find the source articles. Again, sorry!)

(7) You cite and state the results of the Dutch study.

(8) You again say quality of parenting and love are the most important factors, and this time cite an interview with Drexler that makes some relevant claims but without any support (which is unsurprising because it's an interview).

So I admit my characterization was too broad about what wasn't supported. But your central claim about what is needed if a father isn't doesn't seem to be supported by research that you conveyed, either on the negative side (bad relationship) or the positive (love and support) save for, if we're generous with books by Hrdy counting, the three-attachments thing. So I think my critique while somewhat overstated (I'll fix that unless you tell me not to!) is still warranted.

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Rex Kerr
Rex Kerr

Written by Rex Kerr

One who rejoices when everything is made as simple as possible, but no simpler. Sayer of things that may be wrong, but not so bad that they're not even wrong.

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