---
title: "1 Believing Things Quotes By Randolph M. Nesse"
description: "1 Believing Things quotes by Randolph M. Nesse. Plus more from Randolph M. Nesse and more Believing Things sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/randolph-m-nesse-24802_advantage_i-can-t-prove-it-but-i-m-pretty-sure-tha_451254.jpg"
---

> [I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure that people gain a selective advantage from believing in things they can't prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/i-can-t-prove-it-but-i-m-pretty-sure-that-people-gain-a-selective/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/randolph-m-nesse-24802_advantage_i-can-t-prove-it-but-i-m-pretty-sure-tha_451254.jpg)

## More by Randolph M. Nesse

> [ “\[Mood allocates\] investments of time, effort, resources, and risk taking to maximize Darwinian fitness in situations of varying propitiousness. High and low moods adjust… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/mood-allocates-investments-of-time-effort-resources-and-risk-taking/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“The current danger for most of us is not the deprivation suffered by our ancestors but an excess of nutrition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-current-danger-for-most-of-us-is-not-the-deprivation-suffered-by/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“The current danger for most of us is not the deprivation suffered bu our ancestors but an excess of nutrition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-current-danger-for-most-of-us-is-not-the-deprivation-suffered-bu/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure that people gain a selective advantage from believing in things they can't prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/i-can-t-prove-it-but-i-m-pretty-sure-that-people-gain-a-selective/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“People are not controlled by some internal calculator that crudely motivates them to maximize their reproductive success. Instead, people form deep, lifelong emotional attachments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/people-are-not-controlled-by-some-internal-calculator-that-crudely/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Darwinism gives no moral guidelines about how we should live or how doctors should practice medicine. A Darwinian perspective on medicine can, however, help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/darwinism-gives-no-moral-guidelines-about-how-we-should-live-or-how/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Therapists have long known that many depressions go away only after a person finally gives up some long-sought goal and turns his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/therapists-have-long-known-that-many-depressions-go-away-only-after-a/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Paradoxically, it now is much easier to treat many mental disorders than it is to understand them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/paradoxically-it-now-is-much-easier-to-treat-many-mental-disorders/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Long before there were effective treatments, physicians dispensed prognoses, hope, and, above all, meaning. When something terrible happens-and serious disease is always terrible-people want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/long-before-there-were-effective-treatments-physicians-dispensed/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Thanks to subsequent years of conversations with evolutionists, especially Williams, and with medical school residents and faculty, he has found that an evolutionary perspective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/thanks-to-subsequent-years-of-conversations-with-evolutionists/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Emotional capacities are shaped by situations that occurred repeatedly in the course of evolution and that were important to fitness. Attacks by predators, threats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/emotional-capacities-are-shaped-by-situations-that-occurred/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Every textbook description of a disease should have, in our opinion, a section devoted to its evolutionary aspects. This section should address the following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/every-textbook-description-of-a-disease-should-have-in-our-opinion-a/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [Natural selection involves no plan, no goal, and no direction — just genes increasing and decreasing in frequency depending on whether individuals with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/natural-selection-involves-no-plan-no-goal-and-no-direction-just/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [“Even our behavior and emotions seem to have been shaped by a prankster. Why do we crave the very foods that are bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/even-our-behavior-and-emotions-seem-to-have-been-shaped-by-a/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [The body is a bundle of careful compromises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-body-is-a-bundle-of-careful-compromises/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

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