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Major transitions may be rare, but when they happen, the Earth often changes.41 Just look at what happened more than 100 million years ago when some wasps developed the trick of dividing labor between a queen (who lays all the eggs) and several kinds of workers who maintain the nest and bring back food to share. This trick was discovered by the ear
... See moreJonathan Haidt • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
We might notice how similar this claim is to the one that Bayes made in “Divine Benevolence,” in which he argued that we should not confuse our own fallibility for the failures of God. Admitting to our own imperfections is a necessary step on the way to redemption. However, there is nothing intrinsically religious about Bayes’s philosophy.27 Instea
... See moreNate Silver • The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't
En amenant, depuis longtemps déjà, les gens à se sentir membres d’un seul corps et à agir comme tel, la religion a diminué l’influence de la sélection au niveau individuel (qui façonne des individus égoïstes) et a fait entrer en jeu l’influence de la sélection au niveau des groupes (qui façonne des individus travaillant pour le bien de leur groupe)
... See moreJonathan Haidt • L'hypothèse du bonheur: La redécouverte de la sagesse ancienne dans la science contemporaine (PSY. Individus, groupes, cultures) (French Edition)
“In some respects,” Gruber concluded, “Charles Darwin’s greatest works represent interpretative compilations of facts first gathered by others.” He was a lateral-thinking integrator.
David Epstein • Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
In his book Unweaving the Rainbow, scientist Richard Dawkins says,
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly,
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau • Do Contrato Social (Portuguese Edition)
The main point is that the gene’s effect must cause copies of that gene to become more frequent in the next generation. There’s no Evolution Fairy that reaches in from outside. There’s nothing which decides that some genes are “helpful” and should, therefore, increase in frequency. It’s just cause and effect, starting from the genes themselves.