Choosing Who to Love: How the West Beat a Game Theory Trap While China Embraced It

This article was written by a different author than usual. It is a contribution from the editor. Something that has been mentioned previously on this blog is how culture is influenced by natural selection. A society’s culture acts much in the same way as a species’ genome, as they are both products of and determining … Continue reading Choosing Who to Love: How the West Beat a Game Theory Trap While China Embraced It →

Smart, Religious, and Gay: Was there Group Selection?

The first thing you need to know is that personality is mostly genetic. I recently watched this interview with Michael Woodley. I cannot verity the veracity of his claims, but they are interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOudO5EPI0M&t=1s There is a lot of controversy, in the study of evolution and society, about the term “group selection.” Mostly unfair. Here’s … Continue reading Smart, Religious, and Gay: Was there Group Selection? →

Once it’s a “religion,” it’s lost

I get jubilant whenever I discover an ideology I was previously unaware of, no matter how loony it is.

Is Dogma Eugenic?

My hypothesis is that dogmas raised human IQs. To explain why, I'll begin here: One of the most powerful driving forces in evolution is called an evolutionary arms race.

Speech: Robin Hanson explains human signaling

The Elephant in the Brain, a speech based on his book of the same name, by Robin Hanson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4lEvvY1r5U&t=2s Although Hanson's delivery may be a little annoying, I like this speech because of the sheer number of "hidden truths" about society that it explains. It's a rundown on just how many social norms are facades. … Continue reading Speech: Robin Hanson explains human signaling →

Traditions and Junk DNA

Have you ever wondered why there is still a royal family in the UK? One that doesn’t ostensibly holds no power, and “rules” over (several) otherwise democratic countries? Have you ever wondered about seemingly arbitrary cultural practices, like marriage? Why businessmen wear a suit and tie? These things seem normal because they are the way … Continue reading Traditions and Junk DNA →

The errors with Bret Weinstein’s four-part test of adaption

A biologist I admire, Bret Weinstein, employs a four-part test to determine whether a trait is the product of evolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtdOhBoZfNg Is it complex? Does it have a cost? Is there variation in the amount of cost that is spent? Does it persist over evolutionary time? If a trait has all of those characteristics, then … Continue reading The errors with Bret Weinstein’s four-part test of adaption →