[ExI] Ants for spike! Dawkins and Wilson.

[spike]

> > Keith Henson wrote:
> >
> > <<There is no logical way for biological evolution to take 
> place at any level above the gene.
> >
> > This is the central dogma of St. Dawkins.>>
> >
> > ================
> >
> > According to E.O. Wilson (founder of sociobiology) and 
> David Sloan Wilson, this dogma? has been overthrown.? See 
> their article in THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY, Dec. 2007:
> >
> > http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/522809
> >
> > For an "abridged, edited" and somewhat less technical 
> version of the 
> > two Wilsons' argument, go to D.S. Wilson's homepage--
> >
> > http://evolution.binghamton.edu/dswilson/publications.html
> >
> > --and click on the third article listed ("Survival of the 
> Selfless," NEW SCIENTIST, Nov. 2007).
> >
> > Comments?
> 
> I read this when it came out, and no, it does not overturn 
> the central dogma of where evolution occurs.  If you think it 
> does, please explain.
> 
> Keith


I have pondered this to no avail.  Could there be another layer of subtlety?
For instance 94% of genetic drift takes place at a genome level as a result
of competition between individuals, and about 6% at a group selection level
on the average, but these propertions can go up  or down under certain
conditions such as a battle between competing genomes, etc.  For instance,
we have seen in humans that certain diseases have a greater impact on some
subsets of humanity more than others.  I recognize that humans are a
dangerous example in evolution because we have all these intellectual and
social pressures which complicate our behavior beyond our own comprehension.

How about western barred owls vs western spotted owls?  They compete head to
head for food and habitat, but certain conditions can favor one over the
other.  It isn't entirely clear to me that the two subsets of owls are two
different species; they can mate and produce hybrids, but they compete with
each other, both within and between their groups.

We need a way to simulate this question in software.

spike