Dismantling Lamarckism: why descriptions of socio-economic evolution as Lamarckian are misleading

“The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com”. Copyright Springer.This paper addresses the widespread tendency to describe socio-economic evolution as Lamarckian. The difference between Lamarckian and Darwinian replication is clarified. It is shown that a phenotype-genotype distinction must first be established before we can identify Lamarckian transmission. To qualify as Lamarckian inheritance, acquired properties at the phenotypic level must be encoded in a genotype that is passed on to the next generation. Some possible social replicators (or genotypes) are identified, with a view to exploring possible distinctions between genotype and phenotype at the social level. It is concluded that the Lamarckian label does not readily transfer to socio-economic evolution, despite the fact that social genotypes (such as routines) may adapt within any given phenotype (such as an organisation). By contrast, no such problems exist with the description of socio-economic evolution as Darwinian.Peer reviewe

Giving subjects the eye and showing them the finger: socio-biological cues and saccade generation in the anti-saccade task.

Pointing with the eyes or the finger occurs frequently in social interaction to indicate direction of attention and one's intentions. Research with a voluntary saccade task (where saccade direction is instructed by the colour of a fixation point) suggested that gaze cues automatically activate the oculomotor system, but non-biological cues, like arrows, do not. However, other work has failed to support the claim that gaze cues are special. In the current research we introduced biological and non-biological cues into the anti-saccade task, using a range of stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). The anti-saccade task recruits both top ^ down and bottom^ up attentional mechanisms, as occurs in naturalistic saccadic behaviour. In experiment 1 gaze, but not arrows, facilitated saccadic reaction times (SRTs) in the opposite direction to the cues over all SOAs, whereas in experiment 2 directional word cues had no effect on saccades. In experiment 3 finger pointing cues caused reduced SRTs in the opposite direction to the cues at short SOAs. These findings suggest that biological cues automatically recruit the oculomotor system whereas non- biological cues do not. Furthermore, the anti-saccade task set appears to facilitate saccadic responses in the opposite direction to the cues

Predictive learning, prediction errors, and attention: evidence from event-related potentials and eye tracking

Prediction error (‘‘surprise’’) affects the rate of learning: We learn more rapidly about cues for which we initially make incorrect predictions than cues for which our initial predictions are correct. The current studies employ electrophysiological measures to reveal early attentional differentiation of events that differ in their previous involvement in errors of predictive judgment. Error-related events attract more attention, as evidenced by features of event-related scalp potentials previously implicated in selective visual attention (selection negativity, augmented anterior N1). The earliest differences detected occurred around 120 msec after stimulus onset, and distributed source localization (LORETA) indicated that the inferior temporal regions were one source of the earliest differences. In addition, stimuli associated with the production of prediction errors show higher dwell times in an eyetracking procedure. Our data support the view that early attentional processes play a role in human associative learning

World history and world outlook

La historia mundial es una forma particularmente adecuada para hacer frente al etnocentrismo. Los textos sobre historia general existentes hasta la fecha mencionan a China en uno o dos capítulos, mientras que dedican el resto de su tiempo a Europa. ¿Es esto debido a que solo Europa ha cambiado, a que solo han tenido lugar acontecimientos en Europa? Cualquiera que haya estudiado la historia de China le dirá que esto no es cierto. La historia de la cultura china es para la humanidad mundial moderna prácticamente tan importante, desde un punto de vista internacional, como lo es la historia de Europa. Sin embargo, cuando leemos “historia mundial”, leemos principalmente sobre Europa.World history has a value in breaking down our ethnocentrism. The up-to-date general histories mention China in one or two chapters, whereas they spend all the rest of their time on Europe. Is this because only Europe has changed, only Europe has had things happen? Anyone who has studied the history of China will tell you this is not true. The history of Chinese culture is as important, from an international point of view, to modern world humanity as is the history of Europe. Yet when we read “world history” we read chiefly of Europe

Global optical potential for nucleus-nucleus systems from 50 MeV/u to 400 MeV/u

We present a new global optical potential (GOP) for nucleus-nucleus systems, including neutron-rich and proton-rich isotopes, in the energy range of $50 \sim 400$ MeV/u. The GOP is derived from the microscopic folding model with the complex $G$-matrix interaction CEG07 and the global density presented by S{\~ a}o Paulo group. The folding model well accounts for realistic complex optical potentials of nucleus-nucleus systems and reproduces the existing elastic scattering data for stable heavy-ion projectiles at incident energies above 50 MeV/u. We then calculate the folding-model potentials (FMPs) for projectiles of even-even isotopes, $^{8-22}$C, $^{12-24}$O, $^{16-38}$Ne, $^{20-40}$Mg, $^{22-48}$Si, $^{26-52}$S, $^{30-62}$Ar, and $^{34-70}$Ca, scattered by stable target nuclei of $^{12}$C, $^{16}$O, $^{28}$Si, $^{40}$Ca $^{58}$Ni, $^{90}$Zr, $^{120}$Sn, and $^{208}$Pb at the incident energy of 50, 60, 70, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 MeV/u. The calculated FMP is represented, with a sufficient accuracy, by a linear combination of 10-range Gaussian functions. The expansion coefficients depend on the incident energy, the projectile and target mass numbers and the projectile atomic number, while the range parameters are taken to depend only on the projectile and target mass numbers. The adequate mass region of the present GOP by the global density is inspected in comparison with FMP by realistic density. The full set of the range parameters and the coefficients for all the projectile-target combinations at each incident energy are provided on a permanent open-access website together with a Fortran program for calculating the microscopic-basis GOP (MGOP) for a desired projectile nucleus by the spline interpolation over the incident energy and the target mass number.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figure

Learning From Early Attempts to Generalize Darwinian Principles to Social Evolution

Copyright University of Hertfordshire & author.Evolutionary psychology places the human psyche in the context of evolution, and addresses the Darwinian processes involved, particularly at the level of genetic evolution. A logically separate and potentially complementary argument is to consider the application of Darwinian principles not only to genes but also to social entities and processes. This idea of extending Darwinian principles was suggested by Darwin himself. Attempts to do this appeared as early as the 1870s and proliferated until the early twentieth century. But such ideas remained dormant in the social sciences from the 1920s until after the Second World War. Some lessons can be learned from this earlier period, particularly concerning the problem of specifying the social units of selection or replication

Pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer risks in relation to occupational history and asbestos lung burden.

BACKGROUND: We have conducted a population-based study of pleural mesothelioma patients with occupational histories and measured asbestos lung burdens in occupationally exposed workers and in the general population. The relationship between lung burden and risk, particularly at environmental exposure levels, will enable future mesothelioma rates in people born after 1965 who never installed asbestos to be predicted from their asbestos lung burdens. METHODS: Following personal interview asbestos fibres longer than 5 µm were counted by transmission electron microscopy in lung samples obtained from 133 patients with mesothelioma and 262 patients with lung cancer. ORs for mesothelioma were converted to lifetime risks. RESULTS: Lifetime mesothelioma risk is approximately 0.02% per 1000 amphibole fibres per gram of dry lung tissue over a more than 100-fold range, from 1 to 4 in the most heavily exposed building workers to less than 1 in 500 in most of the population. The asbestos fibres counted were amosite (75%), crocidolite (18%), other amphiboles (5%) and chrysotile (2%). CONCLUSIONS: The approximate linearity of the dose-response together with lung burden measurements in younger people will provide reasonably reliable predictions of future mesothelioma rates in those born since 1965 whose risks cannot yet be seen in national rates. Burdens in those born more recently will indicate the continuing occupational and environmental hazards under current asbestos control regulations. Our results confirm the major contribution of amosite to UK mesothelioma incidence and the substantial contribution of non-occupational exposure, particularly in women