From the Human-Ethology Public Yahoo Group

[Craig Mackay]

Craig,

 

I've put your book's site on my favorites list, hoping to find the time to read it.  As I do so, I'll pose questions.

 

In reading your summary, I'm immediately struck by this statement: "Something has happened to our species that let us accelerate our evolution a thousandfold over what is possible with purely biological, Darwinian evolution.  The supergene concept includes everything that is held in our brains – our values, ideas, attitudes and beliefs.  Different subsets of our supergene pool are expressed in different social contexts. Our supergenes have allowed us humans to transcend the limitations of our biological genes, and to accelerate our evolution dramatically as a social species." 

 

I have not gone beyond this Summary, but can you tell me quickly if this "supergene" has any biological basis other than that required in communicating to others, that is, other than passing on accumulated information (via many means).  This is generally viewed as cultural evolution, so are you expanding on this concerpt or intending something more?

 

Sonny Williams
www.clarencewilliams.net
sonnyw@...
"Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition" - Adam Smith
"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries" - Winston Churchill