Learn about the effects of human culture on human evolution in this article at Seed Magazine. Yes, it appears to be a two-way street; biological evolution affects human culture and human culture affects human biological evolution. This article includes a detailed analysis of an oft-cited example: the spread of genes for lactose tolerance (the ability [...]
Last night I saw The Da Vinci Code for the first time. I had read the first chapter of the book some time ago and frankly it so did not capture my imagination that I haven’t picked it up since. Years before, I’d read Holy Blood Holy Grail, the book upon which most of Brown’s [...]
As reported by Scientific American, Researchers have concluded that only 10,000 years ago, the human transition from living off the land to actively raising crops and domesticated animals was accompanied by an accelerated rate of evolutionary change. The pressure for this change occcurred because populations became highly concentrated compared to hunter/gatherer societies. This concentration raised many new [...]
I received the following from a friend of mine, who sent it to his local paper as well. I’ve asked his permission to post it here, in its entirety. It concerns an issue which, while we may hope represents an unfortunate part of our history long outgrown, still rears its viperous and virulent [...]
Listening to a talk show at work yesterday, I heard some fall-out from the recent suicide of the young girl who had been “duped” on MySpace. When I first learned of this tragedy, I ran through a series of thoughts about the dangers posed by the interfaces we use these days, which put us often [...]
The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, is a runaway bestseller. Dawkins is a relentless one-man religion wrecking-crew. He carries a sharp knife for the many arguments that religions are somehow useful or worthy.
But isn’t religion sometimes good? Doesn’t religion sometimes heal the sick and feed the poor? When it comes time to complement religion, Dawkins tends to give [...]
A Hindu chaplain was invited to say the opening prayer in the Senate and some christians slipped in to protest, disrupting the prayer, and generally making fools of themselves and presenting the face of their faith which causes those who feel religious belief is something everyone ought to get over and soon to feel more [...]
I was reading about Gallium metal, and got sidetracked by a debate about math software. The point that got my attention is the contention that civilization is based on an institutionalized principle that we all are incompetent in many important fields. The item being debated was the necessity of children developing skill at long division [...]
Erich just uploaded a short post noting that Americans feel sourly about nearly everything. With no sign of optimism, and marked lack of trust in virtually all institutions, does it come as a surprise that people often sigh hopelessly over the “good old days”? Many people cling to an image of past glory and happiness, [...]
When are we likely to share resources? At first glance, some of us might say that we share when we have more of something than other people around us. It’s not that simple, however.
In “Evolutionary Psychology, Moral Heuristics in the Law,” Leda Cosmides and John Tooby discuss moral heuristics and the evolution of the legal [...]
Have you ever noticed that certain people who drive Very Large Vehicles tend to drive slower than everyone else? I followed a 4X4 pick-up truck of epic proportions this morning and the driver crawled along at just under 25 miles an hour on a 35 mph street. He–there’s only one word for it–”sauntered” along, impressed [...]
There may be little original in this post, but then, there seems to be little original in its subject. It’s just that, well, no one, or not many, manage to say the obvious.
I was sitting before my tv the other day watching Dune. The SciFi Channel version, not that monstrosity from David Lynch–of the two, [...]
Those who have followed discussions concerning religious belief & non-belief know that it’s never safe to say you’ve seen it all. Surprising and worthwhile new positions come along at predictably unpredictable intervals. Biologist Lewis Wolpert has now entered the fray with a new book, Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, reviewed by Steve Paulson of Salon.com.
[Lewis] [...]
