Tag Archives: evolution

Culture and Genetic Selection

Posted on March 4, 2010 by mutecypher

Here’s a good introductory article in the New York Times about how human culture has influenced genetic selection. The selection among cattle herding Europeans for lactose tolerance is commonly known, I think, though I did not know that it had … Continue reading →

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Why Do Humans Make Art?

Posted on October 15, 2009 by mutecypher

Denis Dutton’s The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution sets out to answer that question. Along the way, he makes use of darwinism, evolutionary psychology, archaeology, and aesthetic philosophy to arrive at a very satisfying answer – and provides … Continue reading →

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We Have Been Domesticating Ourselves for a Long Time

Posted on October 12, 2009 by mutecypher

After watching the Discovery Channel’s special on Ardipithecus Ramidus tonight, I was reading some reviews of recent evolution-themed books. One of the reviews had this paragraph referencing Nicholas Wade’s excellent Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of our Ancestors … Continue reading →

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