A new book on the evolution of altruism
- From: "Andrew Jennings" <andrewjenning@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 23 Jan 2007 16:11:55 -0800
Hi all,
Just wanted to let you all know about the release of my new book,
"The Invisible Matrix: The Evolution of Altruism, Culture, Human
Behavior and the Memory Network."
http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Matrix-Evolution-Altruism-Behavior/dp/1411693779/sr=8-1/qid=1169596793/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-9777402-9195607?ie=UTF8&s=books
As you may well know, the evolution of altruism/cooperation is a major
puzzle of evolutionary theory. While evolutionary psychology and game
theory, remain the traditional analytical framework for this question,
promising clues to a solution are emerging from an unexpected field -
computer science.
According to a growing body of research, delicate living systems and
bulky computers, are both information systems engaged in the storage,
transmission, and processing of information. Within the past decade,
bio-physicists like Werner Leowenstein have recast life as an
information system and by extension the evolutionary process itself as
a process of information change. (See "The Touchstone of Life:
Molecular Information, Cell Communication and the Foundations of Life)
(Also see, Decoding the Universe: How the new science of information is
explaining everything in the cosmos from our brains to black holes, by
Charles Seife.)
This allows us to seek insights into the behavior of living organisms,
including altruistic interactions, in terms of the behavior of
computing systems. Though such a comparison between unfeeling
electronic devices and emotive living human beings may seem
preposterous, it can produce a very surprising resolution to this old
puzzle.
There are two important parts to the evolutionary altruism/cooperation
puzzle.
1. What is the survival benefit to the individual who is willing to
sacrifice?
2. How do altruistic individuals manage to outcompete selfish
individuals over time? (The free-rider problem)
The answer to the first question, I argue, is information. A careful
analysis of human evolution reveals the emergence of a network
mechanism that enables a group of individuals to pool information. When
an altruist acts to help a groupmate, he is also acting to protect this
network of pooled information. This reservoir of information acts as a
crucial resource benefiting all the individuals who make up the
network.
The answer to the second question, by extension, pertains to specific
characteristics of information flow between individuals in the network
and the manner in which our hominid ancestors would have developed
their information sharing protocols. Delineating the evolution and
properties of these information sharing protocols require an
understanding of how our modern information devices share information.
Within the information network model, behaviors like cooperation,
altruism and culture are best described as emergent properties of this
network mechanism.
I am an independent researcher based in Mountain View, California. Over
the past five years, I have pursued an interdisciplinary approach to
these questions.
Copies of the book can be order through online retailers like
www.amazon.com
You can also find extended excerpts at www.altruism-evolution.com
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Andrew Jennings.
.
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