Is sexual practice coevolving with our cultural technologies?
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0The Chronicle of Higher Education “Sex 2.0“
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Sex and ReproductionMusic evolves (culturally!) from noise to song under the influence of human selection
Posted 24 Jun 2012 / 0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Evolution of music by public choice” Science Now “Computer Program ‘Evolves’ Music From Noise” DarwinTunes site I am excited to read this article in full. What’s clear is that this is a pretty “canned” version of cultural evolution, but it is exciting to see this cultural evolution being Read More
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Multilevel Selection, MusicTed Kaczynski as a scholar of resistance to technology
Posted 23 Jun 2012 / 0The Chronicle of Higher Education “The Unabomber’s Pen Pal” What I think is really interesting about Kaczynski’s critique is that he is fearlessly pointing out the problems with technology, challenging others to provide a counter-narrative. For the most part, there is no counter-narrative. You are either “with us or against us” when it comes to Read More
A Minor Post, Activism, Articles, Belief, Cultural Evolution, EthicsUnderstanding the role of the Templeton Foundation in funding evolutionary biology research
Posted 22 Jun 2012 / 0Back in March, David Barash used his regular column in the Chronicle of Higher Education to unveil “The Truth about the Temple of Templeton“. Reacting to an increasingly-large funding stream coming out of the Templeton Foundation, Barash questions whether receiving money from this religiously-affiliated, pro-business group will lead to tainted science. Barash begins his critique by Read More
A Major Post, Articles, Cooperation, Cultural Evolution, Economics, Evolution, Grants & Funding, Group Selection, Human Evolution, Human Nature, ReligionJason Collins questions the utility-to-fitness conversion
Posted 21 Jun 2012 / 0Evolving Economics “Gandolfi, Gandolfi and Barash’s Economics as an Evolutionary Science” Great commentary on the fitness-maximizing behavior (or lack thereof) by the ultra-rich. Clearly humans are maximizing something other than their genetic fitness when they seek utility.
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Economics, Memetic FitnessWho is the bigger bioterrorist, man or nature?
Posted 21 Jun 2012 / 0Nature “Engineering H5N1 avian influenza viruses to study human adaptation” I think that the most interesting idea expressed by this article is: In considering the threat of bioterrorism or accidental release of genetically engineered viruses, it is worth remembering that nature is the ultimate bioterrorist. There is so much in this single statement, so many Read More
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, ParasitismHuman limits extended one step further as wingsuit diver lands without a parachute
Posted 23 May 2012 / 0The New York Times “Wing-Suited Stuntman Takes a Super-Hero Plunge” Sky News “Skydiver Becomes First To Land Without Chute“
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Human limits, PlayDavid Sloan Wilson differentiates “Evolutionary Religious Studies” from “The New Atheism”
Posted 21 May 2012 / 0Huffington Post David Sloan Wilson “The New Atheism and Evolutionary Religious Studies: Clarifying Their Relationship” It might surprise you which discipline is more scientific in their approach!
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Evolution, Religion, Social NormsPeter Turchin on the “Dark Side of Cultural Evolution”
Posted 18 May 2012 / 0Social Evolution Forum Peter Turchin “The Dark Side of Cultural Evolution” I love the evolutionary nuance unravelled in this post: both the idea of “staged traits” and the strong assertion that traits are produced by networks of genes are critical subtleties often ignored by evolutionary hypotheses. I am a bit skeptical, however, about the assumption Read More
A Minor Post, Adaptation, Cultural Evolution, Mismatch theoryIf you don’t think that culture can make us do maladaptive things, check out “trepanning”
Posted 11 May 2012 / 0Scientific American Images of the Week “Guns in Ancient Egypt and Nubia?“
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Memetic Fitness, Web