Paul Ehrlich makes some observations on the daunting task of building a comprehensive theory of cultural change. He dismisses Richard Dawkins’ brave but flawed conjecture about “memes” (gene analogs of cultural inheritance), but does support the contentious notion that natural selection can operate in cultural evolution as well as in genetic evolution, although not likely as a central force. He paints a daunting but hopeful and certainly vital undertaking. “…since everything from weapons of mass destruction to global heating are the results of changes in human culture over time, acquiring a fundamental understanding of cultural evolution just might be the key to saving civilization from itself.”
Dawn of the Picasso Fish
Carl Zimmer gives a typically fascinating account of the evolution of our understanding of how the flatfish came to have two eyes on one side of its head, an evolutionary conundrum that engaged both Charles Darwin and his critics. Darwin argued that the trait evolved over many generations of flatfish; however there was no evidence for this morphological development in the fossil record.The most recent contribution to the story is evolutionary biologist Matt Friedman’s discovery of three examples of transitional forms of flatfish among the dusty fossil collections of Europe. What is most interesting to me is that these fossils were long ago collected and curated, but so clearly satisfy the requirement of a Darwinian intermediate. Matt Friedman explains:
I suppose there is a general perception that museum collections are dusty, static archives, and that everything in them has been carefully studied and precisely identified. But the truth is that they are much more than just long-term storage, because as our interpretive framework matures, we can begin to make sense of specimens that evaded or baffled earlier generations of researchers, or draw new conclusions about materials we mistakenly thought we had figured out ages ago.
The Sky Is Falling
The odds that a potentially devastating space rock will hit Earth this century may be as high as one in 10. Gregg Easterbrook explores why NASA isn’t trying harder to prevent catastrophe, and in doing so offers insight into why our institutions learn so slowly. Conventional thinking – that the remaining space rocks are few, and that encounters with planets were confined to our prehistoric past – has been eclipsed by more dangerous realities, but serve to support NASA’s preoccupation with building a manned moon base.
The Crowd Within
Psychologists reveal in a study published in Psychological Science a corollary of the wisdom of crowds: the average of two guesses made by the same person at different times are better than either guess on its own. The accuracy of the second guesses improves when it is made three weeks rather than immediately after the first. If a guess by definition is the best possible answer, where do these second guesses come from? The researchers suggest that we are constantly creating hypotheses about the world, and checking them against reality. Second guesses are refined first guesses that have passed muster.
2b Or Not 2b?
Rumours of the death of language by texting have been slightly exaggerated. We will not see a new generation of adults growing up unable to write proper English, says linguistics professor David Crystal:
[On the contrary], it is merely the latest manifestation of the human ability to be linguistically creative and to adapt language to suit the demands of diverse settings.… In texting what we are seeing, in a small way, is language in evolution. Texting has added a new dimension to language use, but its long-term impact is negligible. It is not a disaster.
Why Judy Can’t Add: Gender Inequality and the Math Gap
The math gender gap joins a long list of differences in test scores that were once ascribed to biology, but now appear to be influenced by social and cultural factors. John Timmer summarizes a study published in Science that suggests that the gender gap in math scores disappears in countries with a more gender-equal culture like Sweden and Iceland.
Your Brain Lies To You
Eighteen percent of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth. False beliefs are everywhere, and efforts to dispel misinformation are more difficult than one would expect because of quirky way our brains store memories and continue to mislead us. Sam Wang explains how your brain lies to you.
Why the Cloud Cannot Obscure the Scientific Method
There is little reason not to be enthused over the new avenues of research offered by increasingly comprehensive and electronic scientific data sets available to us. But reactions to Chris Anderson’s naive claim that the deluge of data makes the scientific method obsolete reminds us why models and theories are the best tools we have to understanding our world. For example, John Timmer responds: “Correlations are a way of catching a scientist’s attention, but the models and mechanisms that explain them are how we make the predictions that not only advance science, but generate practical applications.”
Bill Thompson’s thoughtful conclusions on attending a seminar to see Clay Shirky think out loud about social tools, a seminar that he might just as easily have attended online, but one he was driven to attend in person by an ‘inner need’: