Word: darwinian
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...genes as gigantic Rube Goldberg contraptions meant to ensure the transmission of the gene into the next generation. In his vision, the genes have constructed your body merely as a temporary means of gettin’ on down the line. Using this framework, Dawkins constructs the most wonderful Darwinian Just-So Stories imaginable, explaining the emergence of two sexes, the evolution of cooperation, the emergence of communication in bees, all in exhilarating, even page-turning style...
...afterthought, an idea that has become its own, albeit partially disowned, field. Dawkin’s thesis is simple: wherever there are self-replicating “things” of any sort that exhibit 1) heritibility of traits, 2) variation, and 3) differential reproductive success, that Darwinian evolution is the inevitable logical outcome. In other words, given these three criteria, survival of the fittest takes over and produces “things” that are more and more suited to their environments. To illustrate his point Dawkins describes what he calls “memes...
...currently available models of defined-contribution plans aren't so Darwinian. Most give employees some kind of tax-free personal health account so they can manage their health-care dollars, along with a wraparound, high-deductible insurance policy for catastrophic and other care. Companies still negotiate rates and discounts on behalf of their entire work force. But because many of the most onerous restrictions of managed care--from pre-certifications and referrals to utilization review--are eliminated, the new plans hope to attract much bigger networks of physicians. Definity Health, for instance, has signed up renowned, choosy providers like...
Surely our hunter-gatherer ancestors played games: "Race you to that carcass," perhaps, or "I'm a better spear thrower than you." The winner ate; the loser was tiger bait. Our Darwinian need for competition, short of war, ultimately diverted to sport. The Greeks stopped battles for their Olympics; the Romans hailed their gladiators; they also played a version of soccer. Ancient sportswriters recorded...
...began seeing parallels in the social interactions of birds, lions, monkeys, apes and even humans. In a 1975 book audaciously titled Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, he charted in evolutionary terms the social architecture of a wide range of species--their breeding behavior, gender dominance, caste systems. "In a Darwinian sense," Wilson wrote, "the organism does not live for itself. Its primary function is not even to reproduce other organisms; it reproduces genes, and it serves as their temporary carrier...