J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Tag: Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker — Violence Is Down (But What About Oakland?)

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On October 17

In Culture Rants/Shares, Oakland, Utopian Speculations

Steven Pinker and David M. Kennedy

Recently I attended Steven Pinker’s lecture discussing his latest book, “The Better Angels of Our Nature.” This nytimes review provides a great summary if you’re not familiar with it. The talk was part of the Long Now seminar series, hosted by Steward Brand.

Very short summary: death from violence has been declining throughout history, and we are currently experiencing an unprecedented “long peace.”

It’s a counterintuitive proposition. The world often seems on the brink of mass destruction.

But the evidence Pinker presents is compelling. Walking down Market in San Francisco at night (which I did to get to the lecture, past dice games, thuggish types lurking in the shadows, anarchists in hoodies, etc.) is much safer than the Mongol steppes under the reign of the Khans, or Europe during World War II.

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Pinker on Group Selection

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On June 19

In Evolution/Biology

Steven Pinker, another smart Canadian.

There’s a great essay from Steven Pinker in the new Edge. He thinks carefully (which he’s so good at) about the main arguments made for group selection, and finds them lacking.

I think it’s a valid thought experiment, and potentially useful, to apply the principles of biological evolution (mutation, fitness, selection) to other levels, like molecular evolution (“lower” level, or less dependent on other structures and systems) and cultural evolution (“higher” level, or more dependent on other structures and systems).

I’ve tried to do so myself here. The problem is that it’s so easy to go wrong, and think imprecisely about the model. What, exactly, is the unit of replication and selection? What, exactly, does fitness mean in the context of your model?

One of Pinker’s major points in the essay linked above is that genes are the only unit that has a reliable, high fidelity replication method. And genes are the only biological unit for which is makes sense to talk about mutations.

Groups are not really replicable. Neither are individuals. Selection and mutation occurs at a genetic level, because that’s what actually gets copied (and that’s where replication errors can occur).

Cultural Clawbacks — How We Regain Quality of Life After Technological "Improvements"

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On October 26

In Alternative Economics, Utopian Speculations

"Progress" often makes life worse, but we claw back quality of life.

The history of civilization has seen a number of innovations completely change the human way of life.  Each major change creates enormous real wealth, but also comes at a great cost to health and well-being.

For example, the shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural way of life created a giant leap in food security, and enabled us to build large, permanent, useful buildings, villages, and cities.  The existence of currency and trade centers allowed us to become more specialized in our work, leading to greater efficiency and higher quality goods.

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