Drift may be not be specific to genetic systems
Posted 17 Jul 2012 / 0PLoS One “Structural Drift: The Population Dynamics of Sequential Learning“
A Minor Post, Genetic Drift, TeachingWhen any behavior can be modeled, real-world constraint is critical
Posted 17 Jul 2012 / 0PLoS One “Modeling Collective Animal Behavior with a Cognitive Perspective: A Methodological Framework“
A Minor Post, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Cognitive Ability, Evolutionary Modeling, Intelligences, Modeling (General), NeuroscienceExperimental study of cooperation and population structure calls into question the importance of heterogeneity
Posted 17 Jul 2012 / 0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Heterogeneous networks do not promote cooperation when humans play a Prisoner’s Dilemma“
A Minor Post, Cooperation, Game Theory, Social NetworksKavli Institute for Theoretical Physics hosts conference on the role of cooperation in major evolutionary transitions
Posted 17 Jul 2012 / 0Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics “Cooperation and Major Evolutionary Transitions” There’s also a seminar series going on this winter: Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics “Cooperation and the Evolution of Multicellularity” It is fascinating how many physicists are tackling theoretical questions related to cooperation these days!
A Minor Post, Cooperation, MacroevolutionMount Everest and the limits of play
Posted 17 Jul 2012 / 2Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panoramique_mont_Everest.jpg The traditional spring climbing season has come to an end in the Himalaya and 2012 has turned out to be a pretty deadly year. On Mount Everest — the most storied and trafficked Himalayan peak — ten people have died this season. Only the years 1996 and 2006 have seen more deaths. While Read More
A Major Post, Cultural Evolution, Evolutionary Psychology, Human limits, Memetic Fitness, Mismatch theory, Play, SurvivalAdditional theoretical study insists that population structure does promote cooperation
Posted 17 Jul 2012 / 0PLoS One “Complex Transition to Cooperative Behavior in a Structured Population Model“
A Minor Post, Cooperation, EvolutionI am finally diving into NetLogo!
Posted 15 Jul 2012 / 0NetLogo I am reading the new-ish Railsback and Grimm book Agent-Based and Individual-Based Modeling: A Practical Introduction, and this book is finally compelling me to learn NetLogo. I am pretty excited about its potential for teaching and curious about whether I can use it for research.
A Minor Post, Evolutionary Modeling, Individual-based Models, Spatially Explicit ModelingAcid rain policy changes yield slow but real ecological results
Posted 08 Jul 2012 / 0Science Now “Is Acid Rain a Thing of the Past?” It is wonderful that this policy is yielding results, but a bit scary how slowly recovery takes. Obviously climate change is a very different problem, but seeing how this “success story” has come with such time lags really makes me scared of how long we Read More
A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Pollution7000 year old fossil human DNA discovered
Posted 08 Jul 2012 / 0Live Science “Cavemen Bones Yield Oldest Modern Human DNA“
A Minor Post, Genetics, Homo species, Human Evolution, PaleonotologyNew fossil find pushes back the origin of bilaterally symmetrical multicellular organisms
Posted 08 Jul 2012 / 0Live Science “Tiny Tracks of First Complex Animal Life Discovered“
A Minor Post, Macroevolution, Paleonotology