29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
When Memes and Genes Conflict
Memes and genes may often reinforce each other, but they sometimes
come into opposition. For example, the habit of celibacy is presumably
not inherited genetically. A gene for celibacy is doomed to failure in the
gene pool, except under very special circumstances such as we find in
the social insects. But still, a meme for celibacy can be successful in the
meme pool. For example, suppose the success of a meme depends
critically on how much time people spend in actively transmitting it to
othe... 1 
notes
notesMemes can override genes, which means a meme like 'celibacy' can prevent the genes from reproducing.
29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
The Actuarial Math of Altruism
I have talked in elemental
terms of suicidal genes for saving the lives of particular numbers of kin
of exactly known relatedness. Obviously, in real life, animals cannot be
expected to count exactly how many relatives they are saving, nor to
perform Hamilton's calculations in their heads even if they had some way
of knowing exactly who their brothers and cousins were. In real life,
certain suicide and absolute 'saving' of life must be replaced by statistical
risks of death, one's own and oth... 1 notes
notesIt's not just intra-species, but the closer the relative the more altruism. Also the potential to reproduce affects the relationship as well.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
The Biological Species Concept (BSC)
And when we think of why we feel that brown-eyed and blue-eyed
humans, or Inuit and !Kung, are members of the same species, we realize
that it’s because they can mate with each other and produce offspring
that contain combinations of their genes. In other words, they belong
to the same gene pool. When you ponder cryptic species, and variation
within humans, you arrive at the notion that species are distinct
not merely because they look different, but because there are barriers
between them th... 1 notes
notesA species is defined by the fact that its members can breed with one another.
20 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Genes are Under Constant Attack
Every animal and plant genome is subject to a constant bombardment of deleterious mutations: a
hailstorm of attrition. It is a bit like the moon's surface, which becomes increasingly pitted with
craters due to the steady bombardment of meteorites. With rare exceptions, every time a gene
concerned with an eye, for example, is hit by a marauding mutation, the eye becomes a little less
functional, a little less capable of seeing, a little less worthy of the name of eye. In an animal that
lives i... 1 notes
notesConstantly bombarded by things that mutate them so that the moment the expression is no longer used, it becomes ruined, thus we have blind animals living in caves.
19 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Everyone is a Choosing Agent
1 Humans deliberately choose attractive roses, sunflowers etc. for breeding, thereby
preserving the genes that produce the attractive features. This is called artificial selection, it's
something humans have known about since long before Darwin, and everybody understands that it
is powerful enough to turn wolves into chihuahuas and to stretch maize cobs from inches to feet.
2 Peahens (we don't know whether consciously and deliberately, but let's guess not) choose
attractive peacocks for bree...Folksonomies: evolution natural selection
Folksonomies: evolution natural selection
1 notes
notesSexual selection, breeding selection, and survival of the fittest selection.
