Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id SAA13714 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 14 Apr 2002 18:12:45 +0100 Message-ID: <0d0b01c1e3d7$c833db40$b2de7ad5@hppav> From: "Alan Patrick" <a.patrick@btinternet.com> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <B8DF2443.8C%srdrew_1@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Early Lunch Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 13:14:02 -0400 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
The killer article for memetics is the one a few pages earlier on networks.
Rgds
Alan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Drew" <srdrew_1@hotmail.com>
To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2002 7:19 AM
Subject: Early Lunch
> Has any one read the article in this weeks New Scientist (13/4/02, Vol
174,
> No 2338)?
>
> For those that haven't Richard Coss thinks our transition from ape to
human
> was kick started not only by leaving the trees, but also because rather
than
> being the hunter, 5 million years ago we were the hunted. He argues that
our
> hunting behaviour, social systems all result from the need to devise
> defences against creatures the like of which aren't around today.
>
> I find the idea quite reasonable as it provides an answer why did we begin
> tool using. Whacking something with a stick or rock that is bigger than
you
> has a better success rate than shaking a fist at it. As we become more
adept
> with bigger and better sticks we learnt to fight back which is a good
> precursor to learning hunting. If you can clobber a sabretooth, a small
deer
> (say) becomes a feasible target.
>
> Basically it was an evolutionary arms race with us trying to catch up.
>
> He also argues for certain predispositions of an evolutionary psychology
> nature. That is instincts that have become hardwired. In one test he
> constructed a virtual model of some savannah and showed it to some
> pre-school kids. He introduced a lion to the scene and asked the kids to
> pick the safest spot from 3 choices: In a crevice, a thorn bush or on top
of
> a boulder. Only 1 in six chose the boulder which was the only safe spot.
Not
> definitive evidence I know, but the article does contain other interesting
> ideas and theories.
>
> As has already been noted, in relation to language, he argues that
language
> evolved from cries of alarm to a proto language exhibited by some apes
today
> that distinguishes between specific threats through to language proper.
>
> Interesting piece. It also notes that anthropologists are not at all keen
on
> it.
>
> Regards
>
> Steve
>
>
>
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
> Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
> For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
> see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
>
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Apr 14 2002 - 18:23:50 BST