Re:23andMe raises $50M, cuts price to $99, sets goal of 1M g...
by hackinthebochs on Wednesday December 19, 2012 @01:26PM
(#4943914)
I'm sorry but you're really under- and mis-informed here. Evolutionary Psychology is a bit of a misnomer, it doesn't attempt to explain the mechanisms by which genes act on the mental to influence or create behaviors. It simply provides an explanation for the set of selective pressures and economic interactions that result in certain behaviors. It very much side-steps the question of psychology altogether. It is similar to the behavioral model of psychology in that it studies behaviors (and their likely genetic basis) rather than trying to divine mental states.
EP as a field is very much testable and falsifiable. Take the study that showed human women in economically depressed areas choose more masculine mates compared to more economically well-off areas. An EP theory would be that in an environment of scarcity and uncertainty, it is beneficial to mate with stronger males for the sake of protection and competition. Such an environment could be set up that controls for scarcity of food, level of testosterone in the males, etc. We could then measure the economic benefit of such a mate choice and the resultant improvement in selection fitness. The theory could be validated/refuted based on that. Of course, its applicability to humans would still be in question, but if animal models match the observed patterns in humans, that would be strong evidence in itself.
EP is based on a few assumptions, all of which have a preponderance of evidence in their favor. That genes influence behavior and that gene selection follows laws of economics.
I really don't understand most people's grief with EP. Perhaps you could explain it to me? Is it the fact that its theories aren't directly observable? Well, so is much of every scientific result. Evolution itself has been proven by the massive amounts of indirect evidence in its favor. Do you dislike the fact that EP removes some of our autonomy? Well, science has been slowly chipping away at that for decades. EP simply provides a framework to understand our behavior outside of the (dying) view of pure free-will.
>You imply that I know nothing about science yet you say a book that is largely speculating on what might have happened and why it might have happened is 100% science.
Please, explain to me what about The Selfish Gene is unscientific. If you honestly call the content of this book "speculating on what might have happened", then you either didn't read it or didn't understand a bit of it. The book provided a (mostly new at the time) look on a gene-centric view of selection and provided a framework that better explained the behaviors of various organisms that we see today. It is not speculation: it is informed, testable and falsifiable. Science is a framework for understanding the world; not studies and soundbites. It is a process of refining these frameworks in the face of new evidence and new ideas. E=MC^2 is much more than just the soundbite people have made it out to be; it was an entirely new look at the universe and how matter and energy are intimately connected. It's a shame that the vast majority of people only see it as a soundbite, and as a consequence think soundbites are the entirety of science.
EP as a field is very much testable and falsifiable. Take the study that showed human women in economically depressed areas choose more masculine mates compared to more economically well-off areas. An EP theory would be that in an environment of scarcity and uncertainty, it is beneficial to mate with stronger males for the sake of protection and competition. Such an environment could be set up that controls for scarcity of food, level of testosterone in the males, etc. We could then measure the economic benefit of such a mate choice and the resultant improvement in selection fitness. The theory could be validated/refuted based on that. Of course, its applicability to humans would still be in question, but if animal models match the observed patterns in humans, that would be strong evidence in itself.
EP is based on a few assumptions, all of which have a preponderance of evidence in their favor. That genes influence behavior and that gene selection follows laws of economics.
I really don't understand most people's grief with EP. Perhaps you could explain it to me? Is it the fact that its theories aren't directly observable? Well, so is much of every scientific result. Evolution itself has been proven by the massive amounts of indirect evidence in its favor. Do you dislike the fact that EP removes some of our autonomy? Well, science has been slowly chipping away at that for decades. EP simply provides a framework to understand our behavior outside of the (dying) view of pure free-will.
>You imply that I know nothing about science yet you say a book that is largely speculating on what might have happened and why it might have happened is 100% science.
Please, explain to me what about The Selfish Gene is unscientific. If you honestly call the content of this book "speculating on what might have happened", then you either didn't read it or didn't understand a bit of it. The book provided a (mostly new at the time) look on a gene-centric view of selection and provided a framework that better explained the behaviors of various organisms that we see today. It is not speculation: it is informed, testable and falsifiable. Science is a framework for understanding the world; not studies and soundbites. It is a process of refining these frameworks in the face of new evidence and new ideas. E=MC^2 is much more than just the soundbite people have made it out to be; it was an entirely new look at the universe and how matter and energy are intimately connected. It's a shame that the vast majority of people only see it as a soundbite, and as a consequence think soundbites are the entirety of science.