Desirable Fatherhood Expert: 'Men with High Testosterone Make Worse Dads' | Anna Machin
Nov 28, 2025
Anna Machin, evolutionary anthropologist and author who studies love and parenthood. She explores why AI cannot recreate human neurochemistry, risks of romantic chatbots, how dating apps distort connection, the science of fatherhood and hormonal changes in dads, and why the first 1,000 days and synchrony matter for secure attachment.
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Why Dating Apps Favor Short Term Chemistry Over Compatibility
- Dating apps fail for long-term matching because they remove rich sensory cues and reward low-cost behaviour, skewing toward short-term attraction.
- Anna explains apps focus on looks and low investment, so users get dopamine but no compatibility signals or oxytocin to guide mating decisions.
Design Dates To Trigger Bonding Neurochemistry
- Boost attraction on a first date by triggering oxytocin and beta-endorphin through sustained eye contact, reciprocity, light touch, synchronized activities, and shared laughter.
- Anna recommends lively synchronised activities like dancing then spicy food to raise bonding neurochemistry.
The First 1000 Days Sculpt The Social Brain
- The first 1000 days (conception to age two) are a critical 'bath' shaping brain architecture and social development.
- Anna explains human babies are born neurologically immature because of bipedal birth constraints and huge brains, so early caregiving sculpts prefrontal/social areas.