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When I read articles like this I always think about the concept of neoteny. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny I read a
by johnwatson11218 16y ago
When I read articles like this I always think about the concept of neoteny.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny
I read about this in The Naked Ape years ago. The idea is that neoteny can be a mechanism by which physical evolution takes place. I have wondered if it could also apply to societies and cultures.
The only other place I head of neoteny was in a talk I downloaded where Bruce Eckel and another programmer were bashing the concept saying that it led managers to treat experienced developers like junior coders and demand more and more work for fixed pay.
- phaedrus 16y agoRichard Dawkins, in (iirc) The Selfish Gene proposed that if we really wanted to increase the average lifespan of humans beyond what it is now (we're on the high side of longevity compared to even other primates) then the way to do it would be if people were only allowed have children progressively later in life with each generation. It may be that we're doing this on our own naturally. I myself am the product of several generations who had children late in life, and it does seem like people in my family age more slowly.