Wednesday 1 January 2014

Cultural evolution in annual reviews

I've previously cited textbooks as evidence for the poor penetration of understanding of cultural evolution. However, textbooks are typically conservative and out-of-date - perhaps this isn't the best way to sample recent developments.

Annual reviews may offer another perspective on the issue. For instance, here is New Scientist's 2013 annual review: of "evolution and life sciences":

It seems as though this scores zero for understanding of cultural evolution.

The reviews from previous years tell a similar story:

The negative effect of carving the humanities out of the life sciences - and then not properly studying them scientifically - continues to be devastating.

As we enter 2014, the field of cultural evolution could evidently still do with some more promotional activity - to improve public knowledge and understanding of this important topic.

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