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The Evolution of Complexity: Simple Simulations of Major Innovations (Emergence, Complexity and Computation #37)
by Larry BullThis book gathers together much of the author’s work – both old and new - to explore a number of the key increases in complexity seen in the natural world, seeking to explain each of them purely in terms of the features of fitness landscapes. In a very straightforward manner, the book introduces basic concepts to help readers follow the main ideas. By using variations of the NK model and including the concept of the Baldwin effect, the author presents new abstract models that are able to explain why sources of evolutionary innovation (genomes, symbiosis, sex, chromosomes, multicellularity) have been selected for and hence how complexity has increased over time in some lineages.
The Evolution of Consciousness
by Bjørn GrindeThis book gives the reader an understanding of what consciousness is about, and of how to make conscious experiences more pleasant. It expands on a new theory that describes the evolutionary trajectory leading to conscious life forms. In short, the evidence suggests that consciousness first evolved some 300 million years ago as a consequence of the introduction of feelings. Feelings offer a strategy for making behavioural decisions. Besides playing a crucial role in the evolution of the human mind, they are a key factor in regard to mental health and quality of life. Fortunately, the human brain is plastic. By exploiting available options for modulating the mind, it is therefore possible to impact on what sort of experiences the brain serves. More specifically, you can strengthen the capacity for positive feelings and reduce the sway of negative feelings. The text covers biological, neurological, psychological, and philosophical aspects of the mind.
The Evolution of Culture: Volume IV (The International Library of Essays on Evolutionary Thought)
by Stefan LinquistRecent years have seen a transformation in thinking about the nature of culture. Rather than viewing culture in opposition to biology, a growing number of researchers now regard culture as subject to evolutionary processes. Recent developments in this field have shifted some of the traditional academic fault lines. Alliances are forming between researchers trained in anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology and philosophy. Meanwhile, several distinct schools of thought have appeared which differ in their vision of what an evolutionary approach to culture should look like. This volume contains some of the most influential publications on these subjects from the past few decades. A theoretical background chapter and critical introduction identify the core issues at stake in the new study of cultural evolution. These chapters are followed by sections on each of the four dominant approaches: the phylogenetic approach, memetics, dual inheritance theory and niche construction. Following these are two chapters on closely related topics: the psychological mechanisms of culture and the existence of culture in non-human animals. Overall, this volume provides an up to date overview of some of the most exciting trends in contemporary evolutionary thought.
The Evolution of Cyber War: International Norms for Emerging-Technology Weapons
by Brian M. MazanecFormer secretary of defense Leon Panetta once described cyber warfare as “the most serious threat in the twenty-first century,” capable of destroying our entire infrastructure and crippling the nation. <p><p> Already, major cyber attacks have affected countries around the world: Estonia in 2007, Georgia in 2008, Iran in 2010, and most recently the United States. As with other methods of war, cyber technology can be used not only against military forces and facilities but also against civilian targets. Information technology has enabled a new method of warfare that is proving extremely difficult to combat, let alone defeat. <p> And yet cyber warfare is still in its infancy, with innumerable possibilities and contingencies for how such conflicts may play out in the coming decades. Brian M. Mazanec examines the worldwide development of constraining norms for cyber war and predicts how those norms will unfold in the future. Employing case studies of other emerging-technology weapons—chemical and biological, strategic bombing, and nuclear weaponry—Mazanec expands previous understandings of norm-evolution theory, offering recommendations for U.S. policymakers and citizens alike as they grapple with the reality of cyber terrorism in our own backyard.
The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge
by Matt Ridley“Mr. Ridley’s best and most important work to date…there is something profoundly democratic and egalitarian—even anti-elitist—in this bottom-up approach: Everyone can have a role in bringing about change.” —Wall Street JournalThe New York Times bestselling author of The Rational Optimist and Genome returns with a fascinating argument for evolution that definitively dispels a dangerous, widespread myth: that we can command and control our worldHuman society evolves. Change in technology, language, morality, and society is incremental, inexorable, gradual, and spontaneous. It follows a narrative, going from one stage to the next, and it largely happens by trial and error—a version of natural selection. Much of the human world is the result of human action but not of human design: it emerges from the interactions of millions, not from the plans of a few.Drawing on fascinating evidence from science, economics, history, politics, and philosophy, Matt Ridley demolishes conventional assumptions that the great events and trends of our day are dictated by those on high. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the bottom up. The Industrial Revolution, cell phones, the rise of Asia, and the Internet were never planned; they happened. Languages emerged and evolved by a form of natural selection, as did common law. Torture, racism, slavery, and pedophilia—all once widely regarded as acceptable—are now seen as immoral despite the decline of religion in recent decades.In this wide-ranging, erudite book, Ridley brilliantly makes the case for evolution, rather than design, as the force that has shaped much of our culture, our technology, our minds, and that even now is shaping our future.
The Evolution of Everything: The Patterns and Causes of Big History
by Brian VillmoareBig History seeks to retell the human story in light of scientific advances by such methods as radiocarbon dating and genetic analysis. This book provides a deep, causal view of the forces that have shaped the universe, the earth, and humanity. Starting with the Big Bang and the formation of the earth, it traces the evolutionary history of the world, focusing on humanity's origins. It also explores the many natural forces shaping humanity, especially the evolution of the brain and behaviour. Moving through time, the causes of such important transformations as agriculture, complex societies, the industrial revolution, the enlightenment, and modernity are placed in the context of underlying changes in demography, learning, and social organization. Humans are biological creatures, operating with instincts evolved millions of years ago, but in the context of a rapidly changing world, and as we try to adapt to new circumstances, we must regularly reckon with our deep past.
The Evolution of Exudativory in Primates
by Anne M. Burrows Leanne T. NashThis volume covers aspects of primate exudativory, one of the least common dietary niches among primates. While all primates are generally omnivorous animals, most species, depending on body size, acquire the majority of their energy from fruit, leaves or insects and the majority of their protein from insects or leaves. However, some specialize their caloric intake around the acquisition, processing, and break-down of exudates, the saps and gums produced by trees in response to mechanical or insect damage. Compared to leaves, insects or fruits, these compounds have a unique combination of challenges to the dentition for acquisition and processing and to the gut for digestion. This volume brings together our current knowledge on the morphological, physiological, and evolutionary aspects of being a primate exudativore and to fit these into an evolutionary context. Included in this work are comparisons to marsupial exudates-feeders and the chemical characteristics of exudates.
The Evolution of Feathers: From Their Origin to the Present (Fascinating Life Sciences)
by Christian Foth Oliver W. M. RauhutFeathers are one of the most unique characteristics of modern birds and represent the most complex and colourful type of skin derivate within vertebrates, while also fulfilling various biological roles, including flight, thermal insulation, display, and sensory function. For years it was generally assumed that the origin of flight was the main driving force for the evolution of feathers. However, various discoveries of dinosaur species with filamentous body coverings, made over the past 20 years, have fundamentally challenged this idea and produced new evolutionary scenarios for the origin of feathers. This book is devoted to the origin and evolution of feathers, and highlights the impact of palaeontology on this research field by reviewing a number of spectacular fossil discoveries that document the increasing morphological complexity along the evolutionary path to modern birds. Also featuring chapters on fossil feather colours, feather development and its genetic control, the book offers a timely and comprehensive overview of this popular research topic.
The Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia
by Jeffrey I. Rose Michael D. PetragliaThe contemporary deserts of Arabia form some of the most dramatic arid landscapes in the world; yet, during many times in the past, the region was well-watered, containing evidence for rivers and lakes. Climatic fluctuations through time must have had a profound effect on human population that lived and passed through the region. In this book, paleoenvironmental specialists, archaeologists and geneticists are brought together to provide a comprehensive account of the evolution of human populations in Arabia. A wide range of topics are explored in this book, including environmental change and its impact on human populations, the movement and dispersal of populations through the region, and the origin and spread of food producing economies. New theories and interpretations are presented which provide new insights into the evolution of human populations in a key region of the world.
The Evolution of Human Sociability
by Ron VannelliHow do desires and fears motivate human sociability? What effect do these motivators have on reproductive, social and political behaviour? And, crucially, how might we understand them separate from preconceived notions of design or higher morality? Taking these questions as a focus, this book examines human evolution with the emphasis on sexual selection and the evolution of a number of human psychological processes. Exploring evolutionary, sexual and maturational processes, along with primate, fossil and geological evidence, Vannelli argues that human nature can be conceptualised as species-typical desires and fears, derived from sexual selection during human evolution, and that these are major motivators of behaviour. Presenting additional evidence from the anthropology of band societies, along with material from group behaviour, Vannelli highlights the importance of pair-bonding, friendship, alliance behaviour, vengeance seeking and interpersonal politics in social behaviour, providing a unique interdisciplinary framework for understanding human nature and the evolution of human sociability.
The Evolution of Imagination
by Stephen T. AsmaConsider Miles Davis, horn held high, sculpting a powerful musical statement full of tonal patterns, inside jokes, and thrilling climactic phrases—all on the fly. Or think of a comedy troupe riffing on a couple of cues from the audience until the whole room is erupting with laughter. Or maybe it’s a team of software engineers brainstorming their way to the next Google, or the Einsteins of the world code-cracking the mysteries of nature. Maybe it’s simply a child playing with her toys. What do all of these activities share? With wisdom, humor, and joy, philosopher Stephen T. Asma answers that question in this book: imagination. And from there he takes us on an extraordinary tour of the human creative spirit. Guided by neuroscience, animal behavior, evolution, philosophy, and psychology, Asma burrows deep into the human psyche to look right at the enigmatic but powerful engine that is our improvisational creativity—the source, he argues, of our remarkable imaginational capacity. How is it, he asks, that a story can evoke a whole world inside of us? How are we able to rehearse a skill, a speech, or even an entire scenario simply by thinking about it? How does creativity go beyond experience and help us make something completely new? And how does our moral imagination help us sculpt a better society? As he shows, we live in a world that is only partly happening in reality. Huge swaths of our cognitive experiences are made up by “what-ifs,” “almosts,” and “maybes,” an imagined terrain that churns out one of the most overlooked but necessary resources for our flourishing: possibilities. Considering everything from how imagination works in our physical bodies to the ways we make images, from the mechanics of language and our ability to tell stories to the creative composition of self-consciousness, Asma expands our personal and day-to-day forms of imagination into a grand scale: as one of the decisive evolutionary forces that has guided human development from the Paleolithic era to today. The result is an inspiring look at the rich relationships among improvisation, imagination, and culture, and a privileged glimpse into the unique nature of our evolved minds.
The Evolution of Imperfection: The Science of Why We Aren’t and Can’t Be Perfect
by Laurence D. HurstHow understanding our genetic imperfections can change our view of evolution and enrich what it means to be humanIf we start with the presumption that evolution is a constantly improving process, some aspects of our evolution just do not make sense. We have a high rate of genetic diseases, for example, and much of our DNA seems to be pointless. In The Evolution of Imperfection, Laurence Hurst explores our apparently rotten genetic luck.Hurst, a leading authority on evolution and genetics, argues that our evolutionary imperfections proceed directly from two features: the difficulties of pregnancy and the fact that historically there are relatively few of us. In pregnancy, natural selection can favor chromosomes that kill embryos in species (including ours) that continuously receive resources from the mother. Most fertilized eggs don&’t make it, and incompatibilities between the fetus and mother can lead to lethal disorders of pregnancy. The historically small population size enhances the role of chance, which in turn leads to both accumulation of unnecessary DNA and more mutation.So what can save us? One answer may lie in genetic medicine, which has given us therapies that make killer conditions preventable and even curable.Hurst suggests that our seeming imperfections could be the key to a new way to understand evolution itself. Looking at circumstances that seem to defy explanation, we might come to a richer understanding of how evolution really works, and what it means to be human.
The Evolution of Intelligent Systems: How Molecules Became Minds
by Ken RichardsonHow could something as seemingly transcendental as the human mind have arisen from far simpler material beginnings? This book provides a comprehensive overview of evolution from pre-life and early life forms through increasing complexity to advanced cognitive systems using a new framework based on dynamic systems theory.
The Evolution of International Security Studies
by Barry Buzan Lene HansenInternational Security Studies (ISS) has changed and diversified in many ways since 1945. This book provides the first intellectual history of the development of the subject in that period. It explains how ISS evolved from an initial concern with the strategic consequences of superpower rivalry and nuclear weapons, to its current diversity in which environmental, economic, human and other securities sit alongside military security, and in which approaches ranging from traditional Realist analysis to Feminism and Post-colonialism are in play. It sets out the driving forces that shaped debates in ISS, shows what makes ISS a single conversation across its diversity, and gives an authoritative account of debates on all the main topics within ISS. This is an unparalleled survey of the literature and institutions of ISS which will be an invaluable guide for all students and scholars of ISS, whether traditionalist, 'new agenda' or critical.
The Evolution of International Security Studies
by Barry Buzan Lene HansenProspect Theory: For Risk and Ambiguity provides the first comprehensive and accessible textbook treatment of the way decisions are made both when we have the statistical probabilities associated with uncertain future events (risk) and when we lack them (ambiguity). The book presents models, primarily prospect theory, that are both tractable and psychologically realistic. A method of presentation is chosen that makes the empirical meaning of each theoretical model completely transparent. Prospect theory has many applications in a wide variety of disciplines. The material in the book has been carefully organized to allow readers to select pathways through the book relevant to their own interests. With numerous exercises and worked examples, the book is ideally suited to the needs of students taking courses in decision theory in economics, mathematics, finance, psychology, management science, health, computer science, Bayesian statistics, and engineering.
The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science for the Anthropocene
by Jürgen RennA fundamentally new approach to the history of science and technologyThis book presents a new way of thinking about the history of science and technology, one that offers a grand narrative of human history in which knowledge serves as a critical factor of cultural evolution. Jürgen Renn examines the role of knowledge in global transformations going back to the dawn of civilization while providing vital perspectives on the complex challenges confronting us today in the Anthropocene—this new geological epoch shaped by humankind.Renn reframes the history of science and technology within a much broader history of knowledge, analyzing key episodes such as the evolution of writing, the emergence of science in the ancient world, the Scientific Revolution of early modernity, the globalization of knowledge, industrialization, and the profound transformations wrought by modern science. He investigates the evolution of knowledge using an array of disciplines and methods, from cognitive science and experimental psychology to earth science and evolutionary biology. The result is an entirely new framework for understanding structural changes in systems of knowledge—and a bold new approach to the history and philosophy of science.Written by one of today's preeminent historians of science, The Evolution of Knowledge features discussions of historiographical themes, a glossary of key terms, and practical insights on global issues ranging from climate change to digital capitalism. This incisive book also serves as an invaluable introduction to the history of knowledge.
The Evolution of Knowledge: Scientific Theories for a Sustainable Society (Science for Sustainable Societies)
by Rajendra K. BeraThis book emphasizes the rising need for people to have a basic understanding of science and technology and the emphatic role they can play in shaping the AI-driven future, especially in terms of creating sustainable societies with growing job opportunities. This book highlights why a smoothly functioning society will require, but does not yet possess in critical numbers, policymakers, senior managers, government officials, and those entering the high-end of the AI-driven job market who have a shared vision and a shared understanding of how science shapes the future of sustainable societies.This book makes the case that the destiny of Homo sapiens is not just about evolutionary biology but increasingly about evolutionary knowledge. This book describes the web of knowledge where scientific theories appear as intellectual constructs, which lead to new knowledge that open opportunities for gainful human employment for the well-educated while eliminating jobsfor the less-educated by advancing AI in a predator–prey adversarial model (the logistic map), thus raising livelihood concerns across wide swathes of human population.This inevitably leads to the question, “How should intellectual property rights, especially patents, be granted and protected when AI becomes advanced enough to invent without human intervention?” To answer this question, lawmakers, policymakers, managers, government officials, judiciary, enforcement agencies, etc., must have sufficient knowledge of how scientific theories impact modern society. After reading this book, the reader will be able to find answers to the following questions:• How do scientific theories impact modern society?• What is the intellectual base on which science and technology policies are founded?• Why do individuals across a population need to possess scientific knowledge?• What are the rising concerns of peoplein finding sustainable employment in an AI-driven world?• What is the compelling need to understand the role of patentable inventions in a world where intellectual property is wealth?
The Evolution of Mammalian Sociality in an Ecological Perspective
by Clara B. JonesThis brief discusses factors associated with group formation, group maintenance, group population structure, and other events and processes (e. g. , physiology, behavior) related to mammalian social evolution. Within- and between-lineages, features of prehistoric and extant social mammals, patterns and linkages are discussed as components of a possible social "tool-kit". "Top-down" (predators to nutrients), as well as "bottom-up" (nutrients to predators) effects are assessed. The present synthesis also emphasizes outcomes of Hebbian (synaptic) decisions on Malthusian parameters (growth rates of populations) and their consequences for (shifting) mean fitnesses of populations. Ecology and evolution (EcoEvo) are connected via the organism's "norms of reaction" (genotype x environment interactions; life-history tradeoffs of reproduction, survival, and growth) exposed to selection, with the success of genotypes influenced by intensities of selection as well as neutral (e. g. mutation rates) and stochastic effects. At every turn, life history trajectories are assumed to arise from "decisions" made by types responding to competition for limiting resources constrained by Hamilton's rule (inclusive fitness operations).
The Evolution of Mathematics: A Rhetorical Approach (RSA Series in Transdisciplinary Rhetoric)
by G. Mitchell ReyesThere is a growing awareness among researchers in the humanities and social sciences of the rhetorical force of mathematical discourse—whether in regard to gerrymandering, facial recognition technologies, or racial biases in algorithmic automation. This book proposes a novel way to engage with and understand mathematics via a theoretical framework that highlights how math transforms the social-material world.In this study, G. Mitchell Reyes applies contemporary rhetorical analysis to mathematical discourse, calling into question the commonly held view that math equals truth. Examining mathematics in historical context, Reyes traces its development from Plato’s teaching about abstract numbers to Euclidian geometry and the emergence of calculus and infinitesimals, imaginary numbers, and algorithms. This history reveals that mathematical innovation has always relied on rhetorical practices of making meaning, such as analogy, metaphor, and invention. Far from expressing truth hidden deep in reality, mathematics is dynamic and evolving, shaping reality and our experience of it.By bringing mathematics back down to the material-social world, Reyes makes it possible for scholars of the rhetoric and sociology of science, technology, and math to collaborate with mathematicians themselves in order to better understand our material world and public culture.
The Evolution of Multicellularity (Evolutionary Cell Biology)
by Matthew D. HerronAmong the most important innovations in the history of life is the transition from single-celled organisms to more complex, multicellular organisms. Multicellularity has evolved repeatedly across the tree of life, resulting in the evolution of new kinds of organisms that collectively constitute a significant portion of Earth’s biodiversity and have transformed the biosphere. This volume examines the origins and subsequent evolution of multicellularity, reviewing the types of multicellular groups that exist, their evolutionary relationships, the processes that led to their evolution, and the conceptual frameworks in which their evolution is understood. This important volume is intended to serve as a jumping-off point, stimulating further research by summarizing the topics that students and researchers of the evolution of multicellularity should be familiar with, and highlighting future research directions for the field.
The Evolution of Obesity
by Jay Schulkin Michael L. PowerIn this sweeping exploration of the relatively recent obesity epidemic, Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin probe evolutionary biology, history, physiology, and medical science to uncover the causes of our growing girth. The unexpected answer? Our own evolutionary success.For most of the past few million years, our evolutionary ancestors' survival depended on being able to consume as much as possible when food was available and to store the excess energy for periods when it was scarce. In the developed world today, high-calorie foods are readily obtainable, yet the propensity to store fat is part of our species' heritage, leaving an increasing number of the world's people vulnerable to obesity. In an environment of abundant food, we are anatomically, physiologically, metabolically, and behaviorally programmed in a way that makes it difficult for us to avoid gaining weight.Power and Schulkin’s engagingly argued book draws on popular examples and sound science to explain our expanding waistlines and to discuss the consequences of being overweight for different demographic groups. They review the various studies of human and animal fat use and storage, including those that examine fat deposition and metabolism in men and women; chronicle cultural differences in food procurement, preparation, and consumption; and consider the influence of sedentary occupations and lifestyles.A compelling and comprehensive examination of the causes and consequences of the obesity epidemic, The Evolution of Obesity offers fascinating insights into the question, Why are we getting fatter?
The Evolution of Phylogenetic Systematics
by Andrew HamiltonThe Evolution of Phylogenetic Systematics aims to make sense of the rise of phylogenetic systematics--its methods, its objects of study, and its theoretical foundations--with contributions from historians, philosophers, and biologists. This volume articulates an intellectual agenda for the study of systematics and taxonomy in a way that connects classification with larger historical themes in the biological sciences, including morphology, experimental and observational approaches, evolution, biogeography, debates over form and function, character transformation, development, and biodiversity. It aims to provide frameworks for answering the question: how did systematics become phylogenetic?
The Evolution of Physics: From Early Concepts to Relativity and Quanta
by Albert Einstein Leopold InfeldClear and concise explanations of the development of theories explaining physical phenomena. They begin with basic mechanics and work their way through field physics, special and general relativity and then finally to quantum mechanics. All of this is done without mathematic equations. It is all explained through analogies, theories and explanation or real world experiments.
The Evolution of Policing: Worldwide Innovations and Insights (International Police Executive Symposium Co-Publications)
by Dilip K. Das Aiedeo Mintie Das Melchor C. de GuzmanDrawn from recent proceedings of the International Police Executive Symposium (IPES), this volume explores major policing initiatives and evolutions across the globe and presents practical insights on how police are retooling their profession. The book discusses the trends in evolving police roles among democratic and democratizing states, the impact of community-oriented policing, innovations occurring in police training and management, and issues relating to ethics, technology, investigations, and handling public relations. The book also examines challenges to police practices, such as terrorism, decentralization, and the policing of indigenous and special population groups.
The Evolution of Power: A New Understanding of the History of Life
by Geerat VermeijA sweeping new account of the role of power in the evolution of all life on EarthPower has many dimensions, from individual attributes such as strength and speed to the collective advantages of groups. The Evolution of Power takes readers on a breathtaking journey across history and the natural world, revealing how the concept of power unifies a vast range of phenomena in the evolution of life—and how natural selection has placed humanity and the planet itself on a trajectory of ever-increasing power.Drawing on evidence from fossils, living organisms, and contemporary society, Geerat Vermeij documents increases in power at all scales, from body size, locomotor performance, and the use of force in competition to efficiency in production and consumption within ecosystems. He shows how power—which he defines as the rate at which organisms acquire and apply energy—is tied to the emergence of cooperation, and how the modern economy, which for the first time has established a monopoly over the biosphere by a single species, is a continuation of evolutionary trends stretching back to the dawn of life. Vermeij persuasively argues that we can find solutions to the many problems arising from this extreme concentration of power by broadening our exclusively human-centered perspective.A masterful work by one of today’s most innovative and forward-thinking naturalists, The Evolution of Power offers a new understanding of our place in the grand sweep of evolutionary history.