Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 13:26:06 +0200
From: "Gatherer, D. (Derek)" <D.Gatherer@organon.nhe.akzonobel.nl>
Subject: RE: Parody of Science
To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Tim:
If 25% of children from the labor classes enter the professional classes
(and
adopt their reproductive rates) and the same is true the other way
round--with 25% of the children of professional parents also entering the
working class and adopting their reproductive strategies--then any effects
on their respective gene pools disappear entirely after few generations.
Derek:
Is this possible? Imagine a society where there are 10% upper class and 90%
lower class. To keep it simple, assume the reproductive rates of each class
are the same, and the population is static. If there are 1000 individuals,
and 25% move each way per generation, then:
25% of 100 upper class move downwards = 25 move down
25% of 900 lower class move upwards = 225 move up
Then in the 2nd generation, the size of the population would be (assuming
total assortative mating and net reproductive rate of 1):
Upper: 100 - 25 + 225 = 300
Lower: 900 - 225 + 25 = 700
so the proportional class division in the society would have changed
radically. You have to keep the proportions the same per generation.
If you ditch one of my assumptions above (that the relative reproduction of
the classes is the same) and replace it with the more realistic assumption
that the reproductive rate of the lower classes is higher, then the problem
becomes even worse - since there are even more lower class children.
So I don't think you can have that degree of gene flow between your class
populations. Unless I've interpreted you wrongly....
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