The Peacock's Tail

The other day I was doing some research on... Flirting. I came across a website that explains the basic Do's and Don'ts of flirting. I found it very interesting that, according to this website, flirting is one of our most basic instincts. If that is true, well that explains so much. Take a look for yourself:

"Flirting is much more than just a bit of fun: it is a universal and essential aspect of human interaction. Anthropological research shows that flirting is to be found, in some form, in all cultures and societies around the world.

Flirting is a basic instinct, part of human nature. This is not surprising: if we did not initiate contact and express interest in members of the opposite sex, we would not progress to reproduction, and the human species would become extinct.
According to some evolutionary psychologists, flirting may even be the foundation of civilisation as we know it. They argue that the large human brain – our superior intelligence, complex language, everything that distinguishes us from animals – is the equivalent of the peacock's tail: a courtship device evolved to attract and retain sexual partners. Our achievements in everything from art to rocket science may be merely a side-effect of the essential ability to charm." http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html