The Guardian “Mark Pagel: culture is central to human success” I thought it was interesting how Pagel took on the “culture as parasite” idea pretty directly: we are far too dependent on culture for it to be parasitizing us, although culture probably does lead to the sacrifice of the ‘good of the individual’ for the ‘good Read More
A Minor Post, Breeders, Propagators, & Creators, Cooperation, Cultural EvolutionAshland Daily Tidings “Paintings merge art and science“
A Minor Post, Mutualism, Science in Art & DesignThe Wall Street Journal “Making Ourselves at Home” Mark Pagel “Wired for Culture“
A Minor Post, Articles, Books, Breeders, Propagators, & Creators, Cultural Evolution, Evolutionary Psychology, Gene-Culture Coevolution, Human Uniqueness, Psychological Adaptation, WebGlobal Animal “Dolphins Team Up With Fisherman” Now if only the dolphins can somehow get over that little “needs to breathe air every two minutes” problem with humans through artificial breeding. Seriously, though, this is really interesting as an analog for the kind of coevolution that probably occurred between humans and wolves. Just as was Read More
A Minor Post, Cetaceans, Cooperation, Human Uniqueness, IntelligencesLiterature, Evolution, & the Brain “The Evolution of Cooperation & ‘They Cage the Animals at Night‘” It is fascinating that this blog represents the work of many people, all of whom are looking at literature through the lens of evolution. I encourage this approach — I had better, as I take it myself — but this Read More
A Minor Post, Cooperation, Science in Art & DesignThis morning, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition featured a segment entitled “Put Away The Bell Curve: Most Of Us Aren’t ‘Average’“. I am generally vigilant about stories which make broad claims about human traits and their genetic and environmental underpinnings, and this particular segment triggered my alarms to scream. Analyzing a new study on “academics writing papers, Read More
Adaptation, Genetics, Radio & PodcastsMy most senior colleague in the Department of Mathematics and Science at Pratt Institute, Marvin Charton, died on Thursday, April 12th. He was nearly 81 years old and had been a professor at Pratt Institute for over 56 years. Marvin was a renowned computational chemist who used correlation analysis to study chemical structure-property relationships, and Read More
Chemistry, Department of Mathematics & Science, Obituary, Pratt InstituteNot surprisingly, where I am today has a lot to do with where I came from. My passion for teaching, driven in large part by the faith that educators can transform the lives of their students, predates my arrival in higher education. My first teaching jobs were in New York City middle schools, where I Read More
Obituary, TeachingThis year’s Green Week celebration brought the return of two regular events, an Envirolutions project to help make Pratt’s campus more sustainable and the return of the NYC Department of Transportation to give away free helmets. Envirolutions’ latest project is a collaboration with the Student Government Association to purchase a series of outdoor recycling bins designed to separate waste destined for the Read More
Envirolutions, Pratt Institute, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Pratt, Sustainable TransportationFor the second year in a row I participated in Pratt Institute’s Crash Course in sustainability, sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Design Studies. I once again gave my talk entitled “Ecosystems: Where they came from, how they work, and why they stick around“. Beyond speaking, I also got to attend a variety of interesting Read More
Art & Design, Biomes, Center for Sustainable Design Studies, Conferences, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Green Design, Greenwashing, Life Cycle Analysis, Population Growth, Pratt Institute, Public Policy, Quantitative Analysis, Sustainability, Sustainable Pratt
