Extravagant Results of Nature’s Arms Race - NYTimes.com

Extravagant Results of Nature’s Arms Race - NYTimes.com: "Sexual selection was Darwin’s solution to a problem posed by the cumbersome weapons sported by many species, and the baroque ornaments developed by others. They seemed positive handicaps in the struggle for survival, and therefore contrary to his theory of natural selection. To account for these extravagances, Darwin proposed that both armaments and ornaments must have been shaped by competition for mates."