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See additional Watson posts on our Meetup web site…

See additional Watson posts on our Meetup web site…

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… since that seems to be where the discussion on this topic ended up this time around. — PJW PS: FWIW — having encountered a Wolverine in the wild, finally, in 2014, even as a professional zoologist very interested in the species, my Wolverine meme-complex instantly changed quite drastically. Back at the Biological Station, I was not able to convey how it changed, and everyone else’s Wolverine meme stayed the same, or, if it was modified, could not possibly be…

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Memetics Discussion

Memetics Discussion

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Dear All, Is our next meeting regular BMCAI meetup June 4th? Also, note that I have Cc’ed four of my most recent students on the chance that they might be interested in trying out our group. I’m happy to be open-minded (part of me is, anyway) and discuss memes and memeplexes, and maybe have my perspectives upgraded. But, I’ve been dealing with the meme-thing since Dawkins came up with it in the selfish gene. It has pretty much gone nowhere…

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Fast mapping technique will revolutionize brain research

Fast mapping technique will revolutionize brain research

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Tony Zador of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory devised a new technique for mapping connections among neurons. It is much faster than other methods and at least as accurate as the most accurate competing methods, including fluorescence techniques. The technique, MAPseq, uses genetically modified viruses to insert unique RNA sequences (“bar codes”) into each neuron. Post-mortem DNA sequencing identifies connections among all neurons in the sample. The resulting model is structural, not functional. Derived models are not spatially accurate (i.e., not…

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Book review tool now on BMAI site

Book review tool now on BMAI site

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There’s now a book review tool on this site. To create a book review, login and use one of the following methods: Hover your cursor over the word New a the top of the page (after logging in) and, from the drop-down menu, select Book Review. Create your book review and save it as you would a usual post. In the left column of links, hover your cursor over the Book Reviews link and, from the pop-out menu, select New. Create…

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Incorporating development into evolutionary psychology

Incorporating development into evolutionary psychology

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By David Bjorklund, Evolutionary Psychology, 14:4, October 17, 2016. The abstract: “Developmental thinking is gradually becoming integrated within mainstream evolutionary psychology. This is most apparent with respect to the role of parenting, with proponents of life history theory arguing that cognitive and behavioral plasticity early in life permits children to select different life history strategies, with such strategies being adaptive solutions to different fitness trade-offs. I argue that adaptations develop and are based on the highly plastic nature of infants’…

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Bridging developmental systems theory and evolutionary psychology

Bridging developmental systems theory and evolutionary psychology

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Article by Frankenhuis et al. in Developmental Science 16:4 (2013), pp 584–598. The abstract: “Interactions between evolutionary psychologists and developmental systems theorists have been largely antagonistic. This is unfortunate because potential synergies between the two approaches remain unexplored. This article presents a method that may help to bridge the divide, and that has proven fruitful in biology: dynamic optimization. Dynamic optimization integrates developmental systems theorists’ focus on dynamics and contingency with the design stance of evolutionary psychology. It provides a…

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Dynamical evolutionary psychology

Dynamical evolutionary psychology

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Name of the article by D.T. Kendrick. The abstract: “Dynamical systems and evolutionary theories have both been proposed as integrative approaches to psychology. These approaches are typically applied to different sets of questions. Dynamical systems models address the properties of psychological systems as they emerge and change over time; evolutionary models address the specific functions and contents of psychological structures. New insights can be achieved by integrating these two paradigms, and we propose a framework to begin doing so. The…

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An introduction to evolutionary developmental psychology

An introduction to evolutionary developmental psychology

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The article by the above name is here, first published 4/1/14 in Evolutionary Psychology. The abstract: “Evolutionary developmental psychology represents a synthesis of modern evolutionary theory and developmental psychology. Here we introduce the special issue on evolutionary developmental psychology by briefly discussing the history of this field and then summarizing the variety of topics that are covered. In this special issue, leading researchers provide a collection of theoretical and empirical articles that highlight recent findings and propose promising areas for…

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New site design

New site design

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.93″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_blurb title=”The New Look” _builder_version=”3.0.93″] Don’t be alarmed. Our site is getting a fresh look and some new editing options. It will look a bit more normal after we get the site name back up.  [/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]