Ever since a friend of mine encouraged me to read a few excellent books on genes and evolution during high school, I have found this topic rather fascinating and have kept half an eye open for what some of the broad currents in that domain are. And so I came across this article, that introduces one debate that seems to be somewhat unfolding. Is it genes that drive everything or are we dealing with a more complex system where the environment, gene expression and actual genetic change have a much more intricate relationship?
An interesting thing about the article is also how at one point it transfers the evolutionary logic of selection to explaining the proliferation of ideas. It seems to make total sense to suppose that people are more prone to adopt ideas that are simpler and that resonate more with their cultural background. An idea is put out there and the simpler it is, the more likely it is that people will adopt it and reproduce it, spread it. And the more it is in line with what we already believe, the easier it is for it to spread.
An interesting thing about the article is also how at one point it transfers the evolutionary logic of selection to explaining the proliferation of ideas. It seems to make total sense to suppose that people are more prone to adopt ideas that are simpler and that resonate more with their cultural background. An idea is put out there and the simpler it is, the more likely it is that people will adopt it and reproduce it, spread it. And the more it is in line with what we already believe, the easier it is for it to spread.