Evolution Lateral transfer of genes across the evolutionary tree 18 Jul 2007 In recent years it has becoming increasingly obvious that there is a considerable amount of lateral, or cross phylogenetic, transfer of genetic material. In bacteria, this happens by several mechanisms, such as uptake of gene fragments from cells that have disintegrated, or by mechanisms such as conjugation (“bacterial sex”). Sometimes… Read More
Evolution Why do scientific theories work? The inherent problem 18 Jun 2008 In an interesting post, Think Gene poses what they call “the inherent problem” of scientific theories: The inherent problem of scientific theories is that there exists an infinite equally valid explanations. Why? Because unlike in mathematics, we never have perfect information in science. … OK, so our world understanding improves… Read More
Evolution Briefly 16 Feb 2009 I finally have internet – only took Primus three weeks to install and get working my internet and phone – and that was with an existing account and line! Tonight I went to the opening of a Thomas Henry Huxley exhibit at the Macleay Museum, and Michael Ruse gave an… Read More
That stuff pisses me off as it ruins support for potentially promising and well-reasoned directions of research. Makes ALL applied evolutionary frameworks look very bad to those on the humanities side and beyond… And it seems that like anywhere else, it is too often the idiots who get the loudest voice in academia…
“See, that’s just the kind of bullshit optimism that discredits evo-psych. Your “evolutionary histories” always seem tuned to produce 1960’s flower children.” There, an alternative way of mis-interpreting life.
The problems with evopsych is that it (1) fails to employ phylogeny to constrain hypotheses, (2) assumes an adaptationist story for every trait in question, and (3) presumes massive modularity. When, and if, it doesn’t do these things it comes up with some interesting explanatory hypotheses. At best, only a very few traits will be universal solutions, adaptive, and modular. Evolution is crucial to psychology, yes, but not, necessarily, evolutionary psychology itself.