Search Details

Word: gene (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first (reverse)


Usage:

Some 20 years ago, British Biologist J.B.S. Haldane anticipated the gene-based view of sociobiology when, tongue in cheek, he announced that he would lay down his life for two brothers or eight cousins. His reasoning: the survival of two full siblings (each with about half of his genes identical to Haldane's) or the group of cousins (each with about one-eighth of his genes the same as Haldane's) made the decision genetically acceptable...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Why You Do What You Do | 8/1/1977 | See Source »

Still, there are problems in explaining all altruism as a direct investment in one's own genes. For example, some birds give warning cries for the flock even when their young and close relatives are absent. Trivers proposed a solution in a 1971 paper on reciprocal altruism that has become a central text for sociobiologists. "In other organisms," Trivers wrote, "the evidence that altruism is genetic is rather overwhelming. It is therefore irrational to argue that the first species in which altruism has no genetic contribution is human beings." Using game theory, he concluded that natural selection produces individuals that...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Why You Do What You Do | 8/1/1977 | See Source »

...sociobiologists, Trivers has been the boldest in applying the gene-based view to humans. In part, that accounts for his rise?in just ten years ?from an author of children's texts to a biology guru at age 34. The son of a Foreign Service officer, Trivers entered Harvard on a scholarship in 1961 to study math and prepare for a career as a civil rights lawyer. He was a bright, moody, private person who turned up at all the civil rights demonstrations and student protests. But his marks were so mediocre ("I was more interested in chasing women...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Why You Do What You Do | 8/1/1977 | See Source »

...from the standpoint of what its implications are. It's not like particle physics." Wilson's book, for instance, raises some unsettling questions that most social theorists shy away from: Is it possible that social classes reflect genetic differences? Do the upper classes gradually accumulate a separate and superior gene pool? After stating that the idea has "plausibility," Wilson goes on to say there is "little evidence" of its truth: culture moves too fast, and even the 2,000-year-old castes of India are not genetically different in any measurable way. Still, Wilson believes there is a "loose correlation...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Why You Do What You Do | 8/1/1977 | See Source »

...twelve days' work as the father who sends Superbaby to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton, Marlon Brando has received $2¼ million. A similar sum is going to Gene Hackman, who plays Lothar, the archvillain, for three months' work. To make sure that Superman will stay around for sequels, Reeve, who was plucked from the obscurity of a TV soap opera for the role, is getting $250,000. But then, of course, there is more of Reeve than there was when he was signed. In London, where the interiors are being shot, he trained on weights with...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Show Business: Onward and Upward with the New Superman | 8/1/1977 | See Source »

Previous | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | Next