Marcus W. Feldman
YOU?
Author Swipe
View article: Gene-culture association and coevolution
Gene-culture association and coevolution Open
The genetic evolution of cultural species can be altered by the dynamic interaction of their genes with their cultural traits. In humans, examples of gene-culture interactions are common and a deeper theoretical understanding of gene-cultu…
View article: Livelihood Resilience and Disaster Preparedness Among Farmers in Flood Risk Areas of Rural China
Livelihood Resilience and Disaster Preparedness Among Farmers in Flood Risk Areas of Rural China Open
The frequency and intensity of floods increase with global climate change. Strengthening the resilience of farmers to disasters, in particular to mitigate flood risks, has become an important policy issue. Increasing the livelihood resilie…
View article: Not by Selection Alone: Expanding the Scope of Gene‐Culture Coevolution
Not by Selection Alone: Expanding the Scope of Gene‐Culture Coevolution Open
Gene‐culture coevolution (GCC)—an ambitious synthesis of biological and social sciences is often used to explain the evolution of key human traits. Despite the framework's broad conceptual appeal however, empirical evidence is often percei…
View article: CASE OF KYPHOSCOLIOSIS FOUND IN A WILD VIPER Bothrops ammodytoides (SERPENTES: VIPERIDAE) FROM THE CENTRAL ANDES OF ARGENTINA
CASE OF KYPHOSCOLIOSIS FOUND IN A WILD VIPER Bothrops ammodytoides (SERPENTES: VIPERIDAE) FROM THE CENTRAL ANDES OF ARGENTINA Open
Several osteopathologies are frequently reported in lizards and turtles; however, few cases have been recorded in snakes, and even fewer in wildlife. Here, we report for the first time a case of kyphoscoliosis found in a specimen of Bothro…
View article: Conformity to continuous and discrete ordered traits
Conformity to continuous and discrete ordered traits Open
Models of conformity and anticonformity have typically focused on cultural traits with unordered variants, such as baby names, strategies (cooperate/defect), or the presence/absence of an innovation. There have been fewer studies of confor…
View article: Impediments to countering racist pseudoscience
Impediments to countering racist pseudoscience Open
Although virtually all academics who study human ‘race’ agree that it is a social construct, members of the general public still commonly regard ‘race’ as a biological property (i.e. they think that ‘races’ are genetically distinct). Even …
View article: Does livelihood risk matter in disaster preparedness? Insights from flood risk areas of rural China
Does livelihood risk matter in disaster preparedness? Insights from flood risk areas of rural China Open
Farmers in flood-risk areas are exposed to disruptions in their daily production and livelihood operations. However, disaster preparedness can reduce risk and minimize household losses, thereby increasing livelihood sustainability for farm…
View article: Energy–poverty–inequality SDGs: A large-scale household analysis and forecasting in China
Energy–poverty–inequality SDGs: A large-scale household analysis and forecasting in China Open
Affordable and clean energy, eliminating poverty, and reducing inequality are important goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper examines the role of access to clean cooking fuels in promoting income gro…
View article: Genes, culture, and scientific racism
Genes, culture, and scientific racism Open
Quantitative studies of cultural evolution and gene-culture coevolution (henceforth “CE” and “GCC”) emerged in the 1970s, in the aftermath of the “race and intelligence quotient (IQ)” and “human sociobiology” debates, as a counter to extre…
View article: The refinement paradox and cumulative cultural evolution: Complex products of collective improvement favor conformist outcomes, blind copying, and hyper-credulity
The refinement paradox and cumulative cultural evolution: Complex products of collective improvement favor conformist outcomes, blind copying, and hyper-credulity Open
Social learning is common in nature, yet cumulative culture (where knowledge and technology increase in complexity and diversity over time) appears restricted to humans. To understand why, we organized a computer tournament in which progra…
View article: Exploring the relationship between vulnerability and adaptation of rural households: disaster resettlement experience from rural China
Exploring the relationship between vulnerability and adaptation of rural households: disaster resettlement experience from rural China Open
In the face of environmental deterioration and to improve human welfare, China’s Shaanxi provincial government has launched one of the largest disaster shelter and resettlement projects in history. In assessing the likely success of this p…
View article: Conformity to continuous and discrete ordinal traits
Conformity to continuous and discrete ordinal traits Open
Models of conformity and anti-conformity have typically focused on cultural traits with nominal (unordered) variants, such as baby names, strategies (cooperate/defect), or the presence/absence of an innovation. There have been fewer studie…
View article: The refinement paradox and cumulative cultural evolution: collective improvement in knowledge favors conformity, blind copying and hyper-credulity
The refinement paradox and cumulative cultural evolution: collective improvement in knowledge favors conformity, blind copying and hyper-credulity Open
Social learning is common in nature, yet cumulative culture (where knowledge and technology increase in complexity and diversity over time) appears restricted to humans. To understand why, we organized a computer tournament in which progra…
View article: Examining the links between household livelihood resilience and vulnerability: disaster resettlement experience from rural China
Examining the links between household livelihood resilience and vulnerability: disaster resettlement experience from rural China Open
Livelihood status of rural households is the focus of disaster resettlement research. Influenced by various factors, rural households face multiple environmental and social pressures after relocation, and the study of livelihood resilience…
View article: Cultural transmission, networks, and clusters among Austronesian-speaking peoples
Cultural transmission, networks, and clusters among Austronesian-speaking peoples Open
With its linguistic and cultural diversity, Austronesia is important in the study of evolutionary forces that generate and maintain cultural variation. By analysing publicly available datasets, we have identified four classes of cultural f…
View article: Cultural transmission of move choice in chess
Cultural transmission of move choice in chess Open
The study of cultural evolution benefits from detailed analysis of cultural transmission in specific human domains. Chess provides a platform for understanding the transmission of knowledge due to its active community of players, precise b…
View article: Cultural transmission of move choice in chess
Cultural transmission of move choice in chess Open
Code accompanying the manuscript "Cultural transmission of move choice in chess" by Lappo, Rosenberg, and Feldman (2023), available at https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1634.
View article: Age-differentiated incentives for adaptive behavior during epidemics produce oscillatory and chaotic dynamics
Age-differentiated incentives for adaptive behavior during epidemics produce oscillatory and chaotic dynamics Open
Heterogeneity in contact patterns, mortality rates, and transmissibility among and between different age classes can have significant effects on epidemic outcomes. Adaptive behavior in response to the spread of an infectious pathogen may g…
View article: Infectious diseases may have arrested the southward advance of microblades in Upper Palaeolithic East Asia
Infectious diseases may have arrested the southward advance of microblades in Upper Palaeolithic East Asia Open
An unsolved archaeological puzzle of the East Asian Upper Palaeolithic is why the southward expansion of an innovative lithic technology represented by microblades stalled at the Qinling–Huaihe Line. It has been suggested that the southwar…
View article: Evolutionary modeling suggests that addictions may be driven by competition-induced microbiome dysbiosis
Evolutionary modeling suggests that addictions may be driven by competition-induced microbiome dysbiosis Open
Recent studies revealed mechanisms by which the microbiome affects its host’s brain, behavior and wellbeing, and that dysbiosis – persistent microbiome-imbalance – is associated with the onset and progress of various chronic diseases, incl…
View article: Microbiome enhanced addiction - data
Microbiome enhanced addiction - data Open
Data produced by simulations for figures
View article: Microbiome enhanced addiction - data
Microbiome enhanced addiction - data Open
Data produced by simulations for figures
View article: Cultural niche construction with application to fertility control: A model for education and social transmission of contraceptive use
Cultural niche construction with application to fertility control: A model for education and social transmission of contraceptive use Open
The evolution of a cultural trait may be affected by niche construction, or changes in the selective environment of that trait due to the inheritance of other cultural traits that make up a cultural background. This study investigates the …
View article: Age classes stratified by risk and adaptive behavior during epidemics
Age classes stratified by risk and adaptive behavior during epidemics Open
Heterogeneity in contact patterns, mortality rates, and transmissibility among and between different age classes can have significant effects on epidemic outcomes. Adaptive behavior in response to the spread of an infectious pathogen may g…
View article: Conformity and anti-conformity in a finite population
Conformity and anti-conformity in a finite population Open
Conformist and anti-conformist cultural transmission have been studied both empirically, in several species, and theoretically, with population genetic models. Building upon standard, infinite-population models (IPMs) of conformity, we int…
View article: Conditions that favour cumulative cultural evolution
Conditions that favour cumulative cultural evolution Open
The emergence of human societies with complex language and cumulative culture is considered a major evolutionary transition. Why such a high degree of cumulative culture is unique to humans is perplexing given the potential fitness advanta…