Related Link » The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human NatureThe Red Queen tells Woody everything he always wanted to know, including how this concept might have evolved as "humanity's best strategy for outwitting its constantly mutating internal predators". It might even hold the key to that age-old question — "What do women really want, besides more?"
“This concept, that all progress is relative, has come to be known in biology by the name of the Red Queen, after a chess piece that Alice meets in Through the Looking-Glass, who perpetually runs without getting very far because the landscape moves with her. [...] Life is a chess tournament in which if you win a game, you start the next game with the handicap of a missing pawn.
[...]
Mankind is a self-domesticated animal; a mammal; an ape; a social ape; [...] an ape that has developed an extraordinary range of new instincts to learn by association, to communicate by speech, and to pass on traditions. But still an ape. Half the ideas in this book are probably wrong. The history of human science is not encouraging. [...] No doubt the Red Queen's approach is just another chapter in this marred tale. [...] The Western cultural revolution that calls itself political correctness will no doubt stifle inquiries it does not like, such as those into the mental differences between men and women. [...] But then I remember how much progress we have made since Hume and how much nearer to the goal of a complete understanding of human nature we are than ever before. We will never quite reach that goal, and it would perhaps be better if we never did. But as long as we can keep asking why, we have a noble purpose.”
— Matt Ridley (Author)
It is a terrific read, ‘read’ being the operative word, since there are no pix [get your mind out of the gutter, and into books of this caliber]. Get your copy before the PC thought-police ban it.
No, you can't borrow my copy; I have to read it again. There is a lot of nuance to digest.
Post #1,139 Crimson Royalty on a Treadmill of Sex and Survival
No comments:
Post a Comment