Could it be that the women behave differently when they are most fertile? It would make sense that they would try their hardest to get pregnant at that time of the month.

Depending on their circumstances, it could also make sense that they would try hardest not to get pregnant at that time of the month.

Generally yes; I believe this is fairly well studied although I'm short on sources. IIRC, during ovulation, a woman would dress up with brighter colors (or dress nicer or something), have more flirtatious actions... I forgot if there were dietary changes. Also interesting (also IIRC), is that women prefer more masculine males during peak fertility (best genes), and prefer more feminine males during lowest fertility (best care).

Based upon empirical evidence, that would seem to be most true.

Though I'm sure it depends heavily on what else is going on in the person's life at that time.

Quite possibly, though presumably lap dancers are always trying to maximize their earnings, so any behavioral changes are likely to be subconscious.

Does anyone else think the Econ has gone downhill in the last couple of years? It's not just the overly-cheeky photo captions, the bad puns, the annoyingly small vocabulary of the new editor (how many times can you use the word "Schadenfreude [1]"?), the "amazing new energy technology!" ads in the back -- but the actual substance, the subjects it reports on, are devolving into factoids and titillation with a side dish of political snark.

[1] http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aeconomist.com+Schadenf...

I do think it has gone downhill a bit since the new editor came on board. But I still think it's the best single news source out there. However science articles that boil humans down to testoserone and estrogen sacks have been their bread and butter for a while. Personally, I don't mind it.

So, what has this to do with "Hacker news"? Do we imply that hackers are more effective when they are horny?

Sorry, but stories like this are better suited for reddit or digg.

Many hackers are interested in science generally.

...and there are many places where they can get and discuss information about science. I'm sure many hackers are also interested in xbox360 and Ron Paul, but that doesn't mean they are good fodder for discussion as 'hacker news'.

I understand that you are trying to broaden the purview of YC news, but my personal preference is for a more focused site.

We can learn that one should only present to investors when most fertile.

So in other words, best to keep that MacBook on the desk.

I think understanding a system and using that knowledge to get the most out of it is often a form of hacking. So for the lap dancer, it would be a hack to get off the pill, earn more money while fertile and go on holiday when her prospects are the worst. Same money earned for less work, seems like a nice hack to me.

Sounds like the infamous T-shirt experiment.

http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/15/4/579

Reddit had the same study a while ago, reported by psychology today http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-4...

and another piece of the puzzel