Status Updates From Evolution and the Levels of...

Chapter 8.

There seems to be a general trend to endogenize parameters which were treated as exogenous. Both in biology as in economics.

E.g. mutation rate, level of cost in hawk dove game, mutation rate, group size and benefit from stag hunt strategy in say stag hunt game, immigration level, emigration level. Same applies to hierarchy - or level which is the individual. It evolves - is not given.

I skip chapters 4-7 this time.

Too heavy and maybe not so relevant for me.

Got through what is difference between Price equation and contextual analysis - two non-equivalent approaches to multi-level selection. I did understand part of the discussion in the book on pros and cons of both approaches. I move to using the contextual analysis to hawk-dove (?) and return to the book.

Continue again after going through concrete examples like studying stag hunt and hawk-dove and cultural evolution and behavior of slide mole (Dictyostelium discoideum ) using multilevel selection. And understanding Hamilton rule based on multi-level selection.

Started rereading.

Actually I was maybe not quite ready ("mature") to read this book when I read it first time.

Very abstract book. To make understanding the book easier I also read a more concrete group selection Science magazine paper by economist Samuel Bowles "Group Competition, Reproductive Leveling, and the Evolution of Human Altruism" from the same year 2005 as this book. It was a good approach - made me understand both the book and the Bowles paper.

Deepening understanding of multi-level selection in chapter 2.

Started to reread - highly interesting this time.

Seems also this book is referred pretty much by biologists and biomathematicians studying major transformation and social niche construction.