John Tooby (1952-2023) | Edge.org
Edge,
Nov 17, 2023
I wasn't familiar with John Tooby until I read this article. What turns me into a fan, though, is the selection of articles listed below the brief outline of his life and contributions. It contains gems like this: "Attempting to construct a science built around culture (or learning) as a unitary concept is as misguided as attempting to develop a robust science of white things (egg shells, clouds, O-type stars, Pat Boone, human scleras, bones, first generation MacBooks, dandelion sap, lilies…)." And this: "The larger the payoffs to social coordination, and the less commonly beliefs are tested against reality, then the more social demands will determine belief." Or this: "Humanity will continue to be blind slaves to the programs that evolution has built into our brains until we drag them into the light... Endless chain reactions among these programs leave us the victims of history—embedded in war and oppression, enveloped in mass delusions and cultural epidemics, mired in endless negative sum conflict."
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