Blog Profile / Evo and Proud
| URL : | http://www.evoandproud.blogspot.com/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Academics / Anthropology | |
| Posts on Regator: | 260 | |
| Posts / Week: | 1.1 | |
| Archived Since: | October 4, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
Can antiracism reform itself?
Nelson Mandela shakes hands with Frederik de Klerk, 1992. Antiracist iconography is focused on past struggles, like the fight against apartheid. Yet the world is now a very different place (source). After five centuries of growth, the...Show More Summary
More thoughts. The evolution of a word
Are you assaulting me because I’m White ? How do you react to this poster? Is it antiracist or racist? Why? The word “racist” is so common today that you may have trouble imagining a time when neither the word nor the concept existed. Show More Summary
Thoughts on the Paris spring
Antifa badge (Norway). Antiracism is now part of a legally enforced system of values and norms. Its followers are surreptitiously becoming the underlings of authority, even to the point of becoming a secret police that does the regrettable but necessary “dirty work.” ( source ) Something is happening in France. Show More Summary
Cultural modernity and behavioral modernity
Where’s the beard? And the headscarf? In this photo from the 1980s, the Tsarnaevs look secular and modern (Source: Paris Match) Much has been made of radical Islam and its role in shaping the mental makeup of the Tsarnaev brothers. During their formative years, however, they were scarcely even nominal Muslims. Show More Summary
Where do those tensions come from?
Home sweet home in the Scottish borderlands. This was one of the last regions of Britain to be pacified and brought under State control. People lived in fortified homes where the second floor could be reached only by an external ladder that could be pulled up. Show More Summary
The gay germ hypothesis
Incidence of chlamydia, a major cause of infertility. The high polygyny rate among the “female farming” peoples of sub-Saharan Africa may have favored the evolution of STDs. Is this where we should look for the precursor of the hypothetical “gay germ”? (source) Heritability for male homosexuality is low to moderate (30 to 45%). Show More Summary
Pathogen-stress theory
A Paris suburb, on the eve of the French Revolution. The shift to democracy and individualism began under conditions of high pathogen prevalence and long before modern sanitation (source) Is stress from parasites a major cause of psychological differences among humans? Yes, if we are to believe a popular theory in evolutionary psychology. Show More Summary
The Parsis
A Parsi woman in traditional costume, painted by Raja Ravi Varma (source) The Parsis are renowned for achievement in many areas of life—trade, education, philanthropy, and popular culture. Yet they number only about 100,000 in the entire world (Wikipedia, 2013). Show More Summary
Final thoughts on the Clark-Unz model
Bandit with traditional tattoos (source). In premodern China, who enjoyed the most reproductive success? The thrifty hardworking farmer? Or the local bandit/warlord? In my last post, I asked how well the Clark-Unz model of selection applied to Japan and Korea (Unz, 2013). Show More Summary
Does the Clark-Unz model apply to Japan and Korea?
Syngman Rhee in 1905 and later South Korea’s first president (1948-1960). Though born into a rural family of modest means, he was of yangban and even royal lineage (source). Why is mean IQ higher in East Asia than elsewhere? Ron UnzShow More Summary
East Asia's Farewell to Alms
“‘How could any man in our village claim that his family had been poor for three generations? If a man is poor, then his son can’t afford to marry; and if his son can’t marry, there can’t be a third generation” China’s poor were continually...Show More Summary
Low-hanging fruit?
Labrador retriever running an obstacle course. Can dog intelligence shed light on human intelligence? (source) My last post described a Chinese project to identify the many genes that contribute to normal variation in human intelligence. Show More Summary
It's not because research is cheaper there
Robert Plomin on the genetics of various mental traits (source) A Chinese research team is looking for genes that explain why IQ is higher in some people and lower in others: Studies show that at least half of the variation in intelligence quotient, or IQ, is inherited. Show More Summary
Regulation of emotions and gene-culture co-evolution
Facial expressions in Manga (Japanese) comics. East Asian culture strongly regulates the expression of emotions, particularly in their impact on other people. (source) Humans have had to adapt not only to physical environments (climate,...Show More Summary
The Visual Word Form Area - part II
Dr. Kimberly G. Noble has studied the Visual Word Form Area of children in New York City schools (source). The VWFA seems more hardwired in higher SES children. The Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) is a brain region that specifically recognizes written words. Show More Summary
Why are girls and boys maturing earlier?
For girls, the age of puberty has been falling since the 19th century. The same period has seen a similar decline for boys ( source ) In the United States and other Western countries, girls have been reaching puberty at earlier and earlier ages. Show More Summary
Seeing China plain
China's working-age population is now declining. As labor becomes scarcer, the business community will either take on the challenge of moving to a higher-wage, more capital-intensive economy... or lobby hard for immigration. (source)...Show More Summary
When was the split?
Genetic data suggest that ancestral East Asians diverged from ancestral Europeans long after the African/non-African split (source). This timeline, however, seems to be challenged by archaic DNA that is reputed to be 40,000 years old. Show More Summary
The Visual Word Form Area
Codex Suprasliensis ( source ). Texts were less reader-friendly in the past. An ability to read and write meant not only a good livelihood but also reproductive success. The Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) is a brain region that specializes in recognizing written words and letters. Show More Summary
Eye color, face shape, and perceived personality traits
Averaged face of blue-eyed male subjects (left). Averaged face of brown-eyed male subjects (right). Czech population. (Kleisner et al., 2010) Karel Kleisner’s team is continuing its work on eye color, face shape, and perceived personality traits: We tested whether eye color influences perception of trustworthiness. Show More Summary