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On Jul 22, 2010, at 3:23 PM, JEFF wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> It seems to me there a couple of things missing from this discussion:
> 
> First, with regard to the biological imperative to procreate, there is an important distinction between the individual and the collective.  Whether or not I am able to father children is immaterial to the larger question of can the species continue?  The same holds true when talking about diseases such as H1N1 or AIDS.  While they affect a larger group, it is still an issue of scale (it's also anthropomorphic - seen from the pathogen's persepctive....).  Third, and most important, is to be careful not to interchange the theory  of evolution with the process of evolution.
> 
> On the notion of the assimilation of  knowledge as a function of some biological imperative - I would argue it is highly unlikely.   While it may be true in the particular - "It will help me to survive and reproduce if I know x,y,z." - it does nothing to explain much of what we know, much of what we study.  For instance, I would argue there was little immediate evolutionary value in discovering Saturn is surrounded by rings of ice fragments.  What about the body of knowledge built around the humanities - music and art, just to name two?  A biological bent does not explain, except perhaps as a minor byproduct, either the curious mind or the spiritual mind.

I think there was a lot of "information or knowledge" that was required to move from hunter gathers to farmers and herders with significant impact on a populations survival. The rings of Saturn were probably not important but we can certainly agree (I think) that  other pieces of knowledge were of evolutionary (survival) value.
> 
> Finally, why is there so much confusion about the basic meaning of evolution (the confusion between survival of the fittest vs. survival of the adequate)?  I'm surprised we haven't heard from any constructivists.  "Survival of the fittest" was perhaps a convenient short-hand which 'evolved' into a collective certainty.  Perhaps it is because evolution most often occurs on a timescale that is beyond ordinary comprehension.  Or maybe it has to do with the egocentric view that is part of most western societies, where consideration of species is too abstract a leap for the uninitiated individual.  Regardless, its a complex issue and is not likely due to any one cause, but rather represents a confluence of the many ways we interact with and are informed by our environment as we seek to develop a world view that has personal meaning.

Survival of the fittest  was first used by Spencer after he read On the Origin of the Species and applied it to human society. It was very evocative for the 19 th century society in England given the militaristic nature of the English Empire. We know now that the concept of fittest does not fit with what we know of evolution. Time scales are a great problem (as are astronomical distances) but I am not sure that species is such a problem.  Certainly egocentric views do shift an understanding of evolution as does religion (and a host of other -isms). Another major problem is evolution (the process not the theory) is counter intuitive running counter to any logical assumptions of the natural world.

Martin
> 
> Jeff Courtman
> Museumscapes
> 


__________________
__________________
Martin Weiss, PhD
Science Interpretation Consultant
mweiss at nyscience dot org

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