Techno-Cultural Evolution by William Mcdonald Wallace

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Summary

Evolution has long shaped human behavior. Yet just recently have we learned that evolution based on natural selection is not the continuous process Darwin assumed. It is instead a two-part process of change and stability called punctuated equilibrium, with natural selection operating mainly on the frontiers of change.

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Techno-Cultural Evolution by William Mcdonald Wallace

Evolution has long shaped human behavior. Yet just recently have we learned that evolution based on natural selection is not the continuous process Darwin assumed. It is instead a two-part process of change and stability called punctuated equilibrium, with natural selection operating mainly on the frontiers of change. Taking account of biology's latest understanding of evolution, it becomes clear that culture evolves by a similar process. This is important because over the past 30,000 years most human evolution and the behavioral changes that go with it have occurred in our cultures-not in our genes. Knowing the process by which culture evolves clarifies the origin of many of our current problems, both within and between cultures. The author contends that new technology drives cultural evolution much as mutations change our DNA. The problem is that technology is now coming at us so fast that it is inducing circuit overload in cultures all over the world, leading to conflict. Techno-Cultural Evolution, which builds on the insights of such bestsellers as Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse, explains how this process works-and what it means for all of us.

William McDonald Wallace served as a management and economic consultant, mostly overseas, for 10 years; was chief economist for commercial airplanes for Boeing for 20 years until retiring in 1992; and taught economics and business at Saint Martin's University, Lacey, WA, until retiring in 2008.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781597971072
ISBN 10 1597971073
Title Techno-Cultural Evolution
Author William Mcdonald Wallace
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Potomac Books Inc
Year published 2007-06-01
Number of pages 288
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.