03 MAR 2014 by ideonexus
The Danger of Scientific Ignorance in a Science-Based Civ...
I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time — when we're a
service and information economy; when nearly all the key
manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries;
when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few,
and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the
issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own
agendas or knowledgeably question those In authority; when,
clutching our crystals and r... 1 
notes
notesWe are more reliant on science than ever before, but we are also most disdainful of it.
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.
08 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Workplaces Conducive to Raising Children
We could also immediately change workplaces to allow for part-time work that has similar benefits and pay to full-time work and to allow for flexible hours and career paths. Our own workplaces, the universities, provide both very good and very bad examples. For years professors have worked at home and determined their own schedules with no loss of productivity. On the other hand, the career structure of universities is deeply in conflict with the imperatives of evolution—the years when we e... 1 notes
notesAcademia seems like it could be condusive, due to the independence and freedom; however, the long and demanding hours make it less than ideal. Telecommuting offers the ability to multitask like our ancestors.
08 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
More Females are Born in Times of Stress
A stress-related decline in the sex ratio is no anomaly, but a biological mechanism that evolved to keep the species going, according to Ralph Catalano, professor of public health at the University of California, Berkeley. “From an evolutionary perspective, in stressful eras it’s a smarter bet to have a female child than a male child. A daughter is more apt to provide you with grandchildren,” Catalano tells me. In hard times, he explains, weak males are less likely to survive and to rep...Folksonomies: pregnancy fetal development
Folksonomies: pregnancy fetal development
1 notes
notesIt makes sense evolutionarily to have females during times of stress as males are less likely to survive.
04 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Deleterious Effects of Pseudoscience
...science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time - when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or... 1 notes
notesScience is crucial to our civilization, but we live in a society that cannot grasp scientific issues.
03 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Give and Take of Gender on Evolution
Trivers and Willard realized that the same general principle of sex allocation, which determines the gender of nematodes and fish, applies even to those creatures that cannot change sex but that take care of their young. They predicted that animals would be found to have some systematic control over the sex ratio of their own young. Think of it as a competition to have the most grandchildren. If males are polygamous, a successful son can give you far more grandchildren than a successful daugh... 1 notes
notesMales can produce more offspring, but if there are too many males, then their chances are reduced and it is preferable to have a girl.
