My next Breeders, Propagators, & Creators talk: Columbia University on March 7th, 2016
Posted 25 Feb 2016 / 0
I am excited to be speaking on March 7th, 2016 at Columbia University about the topic of my book-in-progress: Breeders, Propagators, & Creators. The talk, a part of the Columbia Population Biology seminar series, starts at 6 pm at the Faculty House.
Here’s an abstract for the talk:
For most species, evolutionary immortality can be achieved by only one means: the production of offspring. Humans are different. Because a combination of genes and culture enable our survival, humans can contribute to the future of the species in three different ways: the production of offspring, the propagation of existing culture, and the creation of novel ideas. But because all three of these fundamental human activities require resources, each person faces a tradeoff between breeding, propagating, and creating. Different people in different places negotiate this tradeoff in very different ways, and the resulting difference in reproductive and cultural outputs have implications for the future of human evolution. This talk will explore what we know about patterns of human breeding, propagating, and creating and whether we can interpret these patterns in terms of biological and cultural selection.
Please join me for a fun night of thinking about the unique tension between biological and cultural evolution that defines the human species! The talk is free, and there’s a dinner afterwards ($25 for an all-you-can-eat buffet).
There are two posters for this event, which you can download here or here.
A Major Post, Behavior, Breeders, Propagators, & Creators, Cultural Evolution, Evolution, Gene-Culture Coevolution, Human Evolution, Human Uniqueness, Memetic Fitness, Public Outreach, Uncategorized