Cultural Phylogenetics

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Cultural Phylogenetics

Author : Larissa Mendoza Straffon
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319259288
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (192 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Phylogenetics by : Larissa Mendoza Straffon

Download or read book Cultural Phylogenetics written by Larissa Mendoza Straffon and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-02-10 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the potential and challenges of implementing evolutionary phylogenetic methods in archaeological research, by discussing key concepts and presenting concrete applications of these approaches. The volume is divided into two parts: The first covers the theoretical and conceptual implications of using evolution-based models in the sociocultural domain, illustrates the sorts of questions that these methods can help answer, and invites the reader to reflect on the opportunities and limitations of these perspectives. The second part comprises case studies that address relevant empirical issues, such as inferring patterns and rates of cultural transmission, detecting selective pressures in cultural evolution, and explaining the nature of cultural variation. This book will appeal to archaeologists interested in applying evolutionary thinking and inferential methods to their field, and to anyone interested in cultural evolution studies.

The Evolution of Cultural Diversity

Author : Ruth Mace
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1315418592
Total Pages : 334 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (154 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Cultural Diversity by : Ruth Mace

Download or read book The Evolution of Cultural Diversity written by Ruth Mace and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-09-16 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Virtually all aspects of human behavior show enormous variation both within and between cultural groups, including material culture, social organization and language. Thousands of distinct cultural groups exist: about 6,000 languages are spoken today, and it is thought that a far greater number of languages existed in the past but became extinct. Using a Darwinian approach, this book seeks to explain this rich cultural variation. There are a number of theoretical reasons to believe that cultural diversification might be tree-like, that is phylogenetic: material and non-material culture is clearly inherited by descendants, there is descent with modification, and languages appear to be hierarchically related. There are also a number of theoretical reasons to believe that cultural evolution is not tree-like: cultural inheritance is not Mendelian and can indeed be vertical, horizontal or oblique, evidence of borrowing abounds, cultures are not necessarily biological populations and can be transient and complex. Here, for the first time, this title tackles these questions of cultural evolution empirically and quantitatively, using a range of case studies from Africa, the Pacific, Europe, Asia and America. A range of powerful theoretical tools developed in evolutionary biology is used to test detailed hypotheses about historical patterns and adaptive functions in cultural evolution. Evidence is amassed from archaeological, linguist and cultural datasets, from both recent and historical or pre-historical time periods. A unifying theme is that the phylogenetic approach is a useful and powerful framework, both for describing the evolutionary history of these traits, and also for testing adaptive hypotheses about their evolution and co-evolution. Contributors include archaeologists, anthropologists, evolutionary biologists and linguists, and this book will be of great interest to all those involved in these areas.

Cultural Phylogenetics

Author : George Thomas
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781723548147
Total Pages : 330 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (481 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Phylogenetics by : George Thomas

Download or read book Cultural Phylogenetics written by George Thomas and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-04-18 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using a Darwinian approach, this book looks for to clarify this rich social difference. There are several of theoretical why you should believe that social difference might be tree-like, that is phylogenetic: content and non-material lifestyle is clearly got by enfant, there is nice with adjustment, and 'languages' appear to be hierarchically related. There are also several of theoretical why you should believe that social progress is not tree-like: social bequest is not Mendelian and can indeed be straight, horizontally or indirect, proof of credit is abundant, societies are not really scientific communities and can be temporary and sophisticated. Here, for the first time, this headline discusses these questions of social progress empirically and quantitatively, using a range of case studies from African-american, the Hawaiian, European countries, Japan and America.

Cultural Evolution

Author : Peter J. Richerson
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 026231830X
Total Pages : 499 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (623 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Evolution by : Peter J. Richerson

Download or read book Cultural Evolution written by Peter J. Richerson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 499 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading scholars report on current research that demonstrates the central role of cultural evolution in explaining human behavior. Over the past few decades, a growing body of research has emerged from a variety of disciplines to highlight the importance of cultural evolution in understanding human behavior. Wider application of these insights, however, has been hampered by traditional disciplinary boundaries. To remedy this, in this volume leading researchers from theoretical biology, developmental and cognitive psychology, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, religious studies, history, and economics come together to explore the central role of cultural evolution in different aspects of human endeavor. The contributors take as their guiding principle the idea that cultural evolution can provide an important integrating function across the various disciplines of the human sciences, as organic evolution does for biology. The benefits of adopting a cultural evolutionary perspective are demonstrated by contributions on social systems, technology, language, and religion. Topics covered include enforcement of norms in human groups, the neuroscience of technology, language diversity, and prosociality and religion. The contributors evaluate current research on cultural evolution and consider its broader theoretical and practical implications, synthesizing past and ongoing work and sketching a roadmap for future cross-disciplinary efforts. Contributors Quentin D. Atkinson, Andrea Baronchelli, Robert Boyd, Briggs Buchanan, Joseph Bulbulia, Morten H. Christiansen, Emma Cohen, William Croft, Michael Cysouw, Dan Dediu, Nicholas Evans, Emma Flynn, Pieter François, Simon Garrod, Armin W. Geertz, Herbert Gintis, Russell D. Gray, Simon J. Greenhill, Daniel B. M. Haun, Joseph Henrich, Daniel J. Hruschka, Marco A. Janssen, Fiona M. Jordan, Anne Kandler, James A. Kitts, Kevin N. Laland, Laurent Lehmann, Stephen C. Levinson, Elena Lieven, Sarah Mathew, Robert N. McCauley, Alex Mesoudi, Ara Norenzayan, Harriet Over, Jürgen Renn, Victoria Reyes-García, Peter J. Richerson, Stephen Shennan, Edward G. Slingerland, Dietrich Stout, Claudio Tennie, Peter Turchin, Carel van Schaik, Matthijs Van Veelen, Harvey Whitehouse, Thomas Widlok, Polly Wiessner, David Sloan Wilson

Mapping Our Ancestors

Author : Stephen Shennan
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351507060
Total Pages : 484 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (515 download)

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Book Synopsis Mapping Our Ancestors by : Stephen Shennan

Download or read book Mapping Our Ancestors written by Stephen Shennan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much of what we are comes from our ancestors. Through cultural and biological inheritance mechanisms, our genetic composition, instructions for constructing artifacts, the structure and content of languages, and rules for behavior are passed from parents to children and from individual to individual. Mapping Our Ancestors demonstrates how various genealogical or "phylogenetic" methods can be used both to answer questions about human history and to build evolutionary explanations for the shape of history. Anthropologists are increasingly turning to quantitative phylogenetic methods. These methods depend on the transmission of information regardless of mode and as such are applicable to many anthropological questions. In this way, phylogenetic approaches have the potential for building bridges among the various subdisciplines of anthropology; an exciting prospect indeed. The structure of Mapping Our Ancestors reflects the editors' goal of developing a common understanding of the methods and conditions under which ancestral relations can be derived in a range of data classes of interest to anthropologists. Specifically, this volume explores the degree to which patterns of ancestry can be determined from artifactual, genetic, linguistic, and behavioral data and how processes such as selection, transmission, and geography impact the results of phylogenetic analyses. Mapping Our Ancestors provides a solid demonstration of the potential of phylogenetic methods for studying the evolutionary history of human populations using a variety of data sources and thus helps explain how cultural material, language, and biology came to be as they are.

Handbook of Evolutionary Research in Archaeology

Author : Anna Marie Prentiss
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3030111172
Total Pages : 443 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis Handbook of Evolutionary Research in Archaeology by : Anna Marie Prentiss

Download or read book Handbook of Evolutionary Research in Archaeology written by Anna Marie Prentiss and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-06-03 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolutionary Research in Archaeology seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of contemporary evolutionary research in archaeology. The book will provide a single source for introduction and overview of basic and advanced evolutionary concepts and research programs in archaeology. Content will be organized around four areas of critical research including microevolutionary and macroevolutionary process, human ecology studies (evolutionary ecology, demography, and niche construction), and evolutionary cognitive archaeology. Authors of individual chapters will address theoretical foundations, history of research, contemporary contributions and debates, and implications for the future for their respective topics. As appropriate, authors present or discuss short empirical case studies to illustrate key arguments.

Mapping Our Ancestors

Author : Carl P. Lipo
Publisher : Transaction Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9780202367286
Total Pages : 382 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (672 download)

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Book Synopsis Mapping Our Ancestors by : Carl P. Lipo

Download or read book Mapping Our Ancestors written by Carl P. Lipo and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 2017 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much of what we are comes from our ancestors. Through cultural and biological inheritance mechanisms, our genetic composition, instructions for constructing artifacts, the structure and content of languages, and rules for behavior are passed from parents to children and from individual to individual. Mapping Our Ancestors demonstrates how various genealogical or "phylogenetic" methods can be used both to answer questions about human history and to build evolutionary explanations for the shape of history. Anthropologists are increasingly turning to quantitative phylogenetic methods. These methods depend on the transmission of information regardless of mode and as such are applicable to many anthropological questions. In this way, phylogenetic approaches have the potential for building bridges among the various subdisciplines of anthropology; an exciting prospect indeed. The structure of Mapping Our Ancestors reflects the editors' goal of developing a common understanding of the methods and conditions under which ancestral relations can be derived in a range of data classes of interest to anthropologists. Specifically, this volume explores the degree to which patterns of ancestry can be determined from artifactual, genetic, linguistic, and behavioral data and how processes such as selection, transmission, and geography impact the results of phylogenetic analyses. Mapping Our Ancestors provides a solid demonstration of the potential of phylogenetic methods for studying the evolutionary history of human populations using a variety of data sources and thus helps explain how cultural material, language, and biology came to be as they are. Carl P. Lipo is assistant professor of anthropology at California State University in Long Beach. Michael O'Brien is professor of anthropology and director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Missouri. Mark Collard is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Stephen J. Shennan is a professor and director of the Institute of Archaeology at the University College London. Niles Eldredge is a curator in the department of invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, and adjunct professor at the City University of New York.

The Evolution of Culture

Author : Stefan Linquist
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 135189014X
Total Pages : 659 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (518 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Culture by : Stefan Linquist

Download or read book The Evolution of Culture written by Stefan Linquist and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-02 with total page 659 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have seen a transformation in thinking about the nature of culture. Rather than viewing culture in opposition to biology, a growing number of researchers now regard culture as subject to evolutionary processes. Recent developments in this field have shifted some of the traditional academic fault lines. Alliances are forming between researchers trained in anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology and philosophy. Meanwhile, several distinct schools of thought have appeared which differ in their vision of what an evolutionary approach to culture should look like. This volume contains some of the most influential publications on these subjects from the past few decades. A theoretical background chapter and critical introduction identify the core issues at stake in the new study of cultural evolution. These chapters are followed by sections on each of the four dominant approaches: the phylogenetic approach, memetics, dual inheritance theory and niche construction. Following these are two chapters on closely related topics: the psychological mechanisms of culture and the existence of culture in non-human animals. Overall, this volume provides an up to date overview of some of the most exciting trends in contemporary evolutionary thought.

Understanding Cultural Traits

Author : Fabrizio Panebianco
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319243497
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (192 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding Cultural Traits by : Fabrizio Panebianco

Download or read book Understanding Cultural Traits written by Fabrizio Panebianco and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-02-26 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume constitutes a first step towards an ever-deferred interdisciplinary dialogue on cultural traits. It offers a way to enter a representative sample of the intellectual diversity that surrounds this topic, and a means to stimulate innovative avenues of research. It stimulates critical thinking and awareness in the disciplines that need to conceptualize and study culture, cultural traits, and cultural diversity. Culture is often defined and studied with an emphasis on cultural features. For UNESCO, “culture should be regarded as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group”. But the very possibility of assuming the existence of cultural traits is not granted, and any serious evaluation of the notion of “cultural trait” requires the interrogation of several disciplines from cultural anthropology to linguistics, from psychology to sociology to musicology, and all areas of knowledge on culture. This book presents a strong multidisciplinary perspective that can help clarify the problems about cultural traits.

Mapping Our Ancestors

Author : Stephen Shennan
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351507079
Total Pages : 371 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (515 download)

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Book Synopsis Mapping Our Ancestors by : Stephen Shennan

Download or read book Mapping Our Ancestors written by Stephen Shennan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much of what we are comes from our ancestors. Through cultural and biological inheritance mechanisms, our genetic composition, instructions for constructing artifacts, the structure and content of languages, and rules for behavior are passed from parents to children and from individual to individual. Mapping Our Ancestors demonstrates how various genealogical or "phylogenetic" methods can be used both to answer questions about human history and to build evolutionary explanations for the shape of history. Anthropologists are increasingly turning to quantitative phylogenetic methods. These methods depend on the transmission of information regardless of mode and as such are applicable to many anthropological questions. In this way, phylogenetic approaches have the potential for building bridges among the various subdisciplines of anthropology; an exciting prospect indeed. The structure of Mapping Our Ancestors reflects the editors' goal of developing a common understanding of the methods and conditions under which ancestral relations can be derived in a range of data classes of interest to anthropologists. Specifically, this volume explores the degree to which patterns of ancestry can be determined from artifactual, genetic, linguistic, and behavioral data and how processes such as selection, transmission, and geography impact the results of phylogenetic analyses. Mapping Our Ancestors provides a solid demonstration of the potential of phylogenetic methods for studying the evolutionary history of human populations using a variety of data sources and thus helps explain how cultural material, language, and biology came to be as they are.

Phylogenetic Ecology

Author : Nathan G. Swenson
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022667164X
Total Pages : 229 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (266 download)

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Book Synopsis Phylogenetic Ecology by : Nathan G. Swenson

Download or read book Phylogenetic Ecology written by Nathan G. Swenson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-11-22 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past decade, ecologists have increasingly embraced phylogenetics, the study of evolutionary relationships among species. As a result, they have come to discover the field’s power to illuminate present ecological patterns and processes. Ecologists are now investigating whether phylogenetic diversity is a better measure of ecosystem health than more traditional metrics like species diversity, whether it can predict the future structure and function of communities and ecosystems, and whether conservationists might prioritize it when formulating conservation plans. In Phylogenetic Ecology, Nathan G. Swenson synthesizes this nascent field’s major conceptual, methodological, and empirical developments to provide students and practicing ecologists with a foundational overview. Along the way, he highlights those realms of phylogenetic ecology that will likely increase in relevance—such as the burgeoning subfield of phylogenomics—and shows how ecologists might lean on these new perspectives to inform their research programs.

Investigating Archaeological Cultures

Author : Benjamin W. Roberts
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1441969705
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis Investigating Archaeological Cultures by : Benjamin W. Roberts

Download or read book Investigating Archaeological Cultures written by Benjamin W. Roberts and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-06-04 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Defining "culture" is an important step in undertaking archaeological research. Any thorough study of a particular culture first has to determine what that culture contains-- what particular time period, geographic region, and group of people make up that culture. The study of archaeology has many accepted definitions of particular cultures, but recently these accepted definitions have come into question. As archaeologists struggle to define cultures, they also seek to define the components of culture. This volume brings together 21 international case studies to explore the meaning of "culture" for regions around the globe and periods from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age and beyond. Taking lessons and overarching themes from these studies, the contributors draw important conclusions about cultural transmission, technology development, and cultural development. The result is a comprehensive model for approaching the study of culture, broken down into regions (Russia, Continental Europe, North America, Britain, and Africa), materials (Lithics, Ceramics, Metals) and time periods. This work will be valuable to all archaeologists and cultural anthropologists, particularly those studying material culture.

Cultural Evolution

Author : Alex Mesoudi
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226520447
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (265 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Evolution by : Alex Mesoudi

Download or read book Cultural Evolution written by Alex Mesoudi and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2011-09 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Darwin changed the course of scientific thinking by showing how evolution accounts for the stunning diversity and biological complexity of life on earth. Recently, there has also been increased interest in the social sciences in how Darwinian theory can explain human culture. Covering a wide range of topics, including fads, public policy, the spread of religion, and herd behavior in markets, Alex Mesoudi shows that human culture is itself an evolutionary process that exhibits the key Darwinian mechanisms of variation, competition, and inheritance. This cross-disciplinary volume focuses on the ways cultural phenomena can be studied scientifically—from theoretical modeling to lab experiments, archaeological fieldwork to ethnographic studies—and shows how apparently disparate methods can complement one another to the mutual benefit of the various social science disciplines. Along the way, the book reveals how new insights arise from looking at culture from an evolutionary angle. Cultural Evolution provides a thought-provoking argument that Darwinian evolutionary theory can both unify different branches of inquiry and enhance understanding of human behavior.

The Future of Phylogenetic Systematics

Author : David Williams
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1316688186
Total Pages : 509 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (166 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of Phylogenetic Systematics by : David Williams

Download or read book The Future of Phylogenetic Systematics written by David Williams and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-07-21 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Willi Hennig (1913–76), founder of phylogenetic systematics, revolutionised our understanding of the relationships among species and their natural classification. An expert on Diptera and fossil insects, Hennig's ideas were applicable to all organisms. He wrote about the science of taxonomy or systematics, refining and promoting discussion of the precise meaning of the term 'relationship', the nature of systematic evidence, and how those matters impinge on a precise understanding of monophyly, paraphyly, and polyphyly. Hennig's contributions are relevant today and are a platform for the future. This book focuses on the intellectual aspects of Hennig's work and gives dimension to the future of the subject in relation to Hennig's foundational contributions to the field of phylogenetic systematics. Suitable for graduate students and academic researchers, this book will also appeal to philosophers and historians interested in the legacy of Willi Hennig.

Basics in Human Evolution

Author : Michael P Muehlenbein
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0128026936
Total Pages : 584 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis Basics in Human Evolution by : Michael P Muehlenbein

Download or read book Basics in Human Evolution written by Michael P Muehlenbein and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2015-07-24 with total page 584 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Basics in Human Evolution offers a broad view of evolutionary biology and medicine. The book is written for a non-expert audience, providing accessible and convenient content that will appeal to numerous readers across the interdisciplinary field. From evolutionary theory, to cultural evolution, this book fills gaps in the readers’ knowledge from various backgrounds and introduces them to thought leaders in human evolution research. Offers comprehensive coverage of the wide ranging field of human evolution Written for a non-expert audience, providing accessible and convenient content that will appeal to numerous readers across the interdisciplinary field Provides expertise from leading minds in the field Allows the reader the ability to gain exposure to various topics in one publication

Darwinian Creativity and Memetics

Author : Maria Kronfeldner
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317544919
Total Pages : 187 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Darwinian Creativity and Memetics by : Maria Kronfeldner

Download or read book Darwinian Creativity and Memetics written by Maria Kronfeldner and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-11 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maria Kronfeldner examines how Darwinism has been used to explain novelty and change in culture through the Darwinian approach to creativity and the theory of memes. The first claims that creativity is based on a Darwinian process of blind variation and selection, while the latter claims that culture is based on and explained by units - memes - that are similar to genes. Both theories try to describe and explain mind and culture by applying Darwinism by way of analogies. Kronfeldner shows that the analogies involved in these theories lead to claims that give either wrong or at least no new descriptions or explanations of the phenomena at issue. Whereas the two approaches are usually defended or criticized on the basis that they are dangerous for our vision of ourselves, this book takes a different perspective: it questions the acuteness of these approaches. Darwinian theory is not like a dangerous wolf, hunting for our self image. Far from it, in the case of the two analogical applications addressed in this book, Darwinian theory is shown to behave more like a disoriented sheep in wolf's clothing.

The Acceleration of Cultural Change

Author : R. Alexander Bentley
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262551977
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis The Acceleration of Cultural Change by : R. Alexander Bentley

Download or read book The Acceleration of Cultural Change written by R. Alexander Bentley and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2024-05-21 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How culture evolves through algorithms rather than knowledge inherited from ancestors. From our hunter-gatherer days, we humans evolved to be excellent throwers, chewers, and long-distance runners. We are highly social, crave Paleolithic snacks, and display some gendered difference resulting from mate selection. But we now find ourselves binge-viewing, texting while driving, and playing Minecraft. Only the collective acceleration of cultural and technological evolution explains this development. The evolutionary psychology of individuals—the drive for “food and sex”—explains some of our current habits, but our evolutionary success, Alex Bentley and Mike O'Brien explain, lies in our ability to learn cultural know-how and to teach it to the next generation. Today, we are following social media bots as much as we are learning from our ancestors. We are radically changing the way culture evolves. Bentley and O'Brien describe how the transmission of culture has become vast and instantaneous across an Internet of people and devices, after millennia of local ancestral knowledge that evolved slowly. Long-evolved cultural knowledge is aggressively discounted by online algorithms, which prioritize popularity and recency. If children are learning more from Minecraft than from tradition, this is a profound shift in cultural evolution. Bentley and O'Brien examine the broad and shallow model of cultural evolution seen today in the science of networks, prediction markets, and the explosion of digital information. They suggest that in the future, artificial intelligence could be put to work to solve the problem of information overload, learning to integrate concepts over the vast idea space of digitally stored information.