Category Archives: Evolution by Natural Selection

Urban Angst: Darwinian Theory, the Need for Meaning, and Modern Existential Anxiety

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Bo Winegard

“Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.” Victor Frankl Almost every human has, at one moment or another, recoiled from the world and asked a simple but disturbing question: “what is the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Evolution and Biology, Evolution and Psychology, Evolution by Natural Selection | 4 Comments

Ineffective forecasting: Why we are bad at knowing how we will feel and evolution favors our ignorance

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Bo Winegard

In the excellent John Huston film, The Maltese Falcon, a crew of criminals and adventurers, led by Kasper Gutman (played impeccably by Sydney Greenstreet) chase down the valuable and eponymous bird statuette with such single-mindedness that robbery, murder, and double-crossings … Continue reading →

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Posted in Adaptation, Evolution and Biology, Evolution and Psychology, Evolution by Natural Selection | 2 Comments

Making Sense of Biology

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Joseph Graves

Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution, Theodosius Dobzhansky (1973). The American Biology Teacher, 35(3), 125-129. “See the lilies of the field…their genomes are 36 times larger than ours…” Those with a naïve understanding of evolution … Continue reading →

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Posted in Adaptation, Evolution by Natural Selection | Comments Off on Making Sense of Biology

Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the Importance of Adaptation Implementation in Evolutionary Psychology

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Glenn Geher

Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the Importance of Adaptation Implementation in Evolutionary Psychology I’m not going to lie. If you follow my work at all, hopefully this isn’t a surprise – I try to stay honest – it’s a way … Continue reading →

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Posted in Adaptation, Evolution and Psychology, Glenn Geher, Mating and Sexuality | 8 Comments

The Spandrels of Dunkin Donuts, or How the Munchkin Came to Be

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Rosemarie Sokol Chang

Anyone who has been to the Northeast is likely familiar with the miniature Dunkin Donuts confection the donut hole, aka the Munchkin. After an unsuccessful online search, I called headquarters to learn more about the history of this sweet, only … Continue reading →

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Posted in Evolution and Psychology, Evolution by Natural Selection, Exaptation, Rosemarie Sokol Chang | 5 Comments

Sometimes a Species is just a Species: Individual Selection Trumps “Benefit of the Species”

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Rosemarie Sokol Chang

What did Genghis Khan (circa 1162-1227) have that you don’t? He had hundreds of children and the power to absorb a vast number of tribes into his Mongolian Empire. His power can be used as an example to show that … Continue reading →

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Posted in Evolution and Psychology, Evolution by Natural Selection | Comments Off on Sometimes a Species is just a Species: Individual Selection Trumps “Benefit of the Species”