The hottest Evolution Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

What Progress Has There Been in Industrial Robots?

Construction Physics • 18999 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Robotics Industrial Cost Performance Evolution
  1. Industrial robots have become more cost-effective over time, making them more accessible for various applications.
  2. Advances in industrial robots have led to significant improvements in precision and smooth, continuous motion capabilities.
  3. There has been a trend towards standard robotic architectures, with modern robots primarily consisting of robotic arms with electric drives and servo motors.

Evolution Explains Polygenic Structure

Astral Codex Ten • 8465 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
🔬 Science Evolution Genetics Mental health Research
  1. Genes for severe conditions like schizophrenia are likely small in effect and numerous, not large and few.
  2. Evolution would have eliminated genes with large negative effects, leaving only genes with small effects.
  3. The presence of genes with very small effects may be due to various factors like insufficient time for removal or counterbalancing advantages.

The longer I live, the wronger I get to be

Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning • 674 implied HN points • 02 Mar 24
🔬 Science Genetics Evolution Data Analysis
  1. In the field of human population genetics, interesting times can lead to significant advancements and significant shifts in understanding.
  2. The concept of intelligence as influenced by single 'IQ genes' has been refuted in favor of the understanding that intelligence involves thousands of genes with small effects.
  3. Historical inaccuracies regarding the ancestry of European Jews, the dynamics of human evolution out of Africa, and the role of natural selection in human evolution have been corrected with new scientific discoveries and insights.
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A New Literature

Software Design: Tidy First? • 1903 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
📚 Literature Writing Model Content creation Evolution Interactivity
  1. The new companion model called Rent-a-Kent combines blog posts with a trained language model to promote reader interaction.
  2. Creating the companion model felt more like programming than writing a blog post, with less control over the model's responses.
  3. This new form of literature allows for immediate questions and comments without the delay of waiting for replies, but may lack the human connection found in traditional comment sections.

Top Links 374 The new armaments boom, how to build places for people to live, Eswanti's ship register & Marx to Darwin

Chartbook • 357 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics Housing Evolution
  1. The post highlights topics like the new armaments industry, urban planning, and Eswatini's ship registry.
  2. The Chartbook Newsletter by Adam Tooze offers valuable insights and content on various subjects.
  3. The post includes links to intriguing content, like a piece on Yozo Hamaguchi's art and a paid subscriber section.

The Goldilocks zone between inbreeding and outbreeding

ideassleepfuriously • 884 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🔬 Science Genetics Evolution Psychology Fertility
  1. The risk of producing abnormal embryos is highest in siblings, lower in first cousins, and lowest in third or fourth cousins.
  2. Inbreeding can lead to shared defective alleles and recessive disorders, causing inbreeding depression.
  3. Outbreeding can lead to genetic incompatibilities and higher rates of miscarriage, causing outbreeding depression.

Capitalism put an end to systematic warfare

Wood From Eden • 960 implied HN points • 11 Dec 23
🌍 World Politics Warfare Evolution Economics Capitalism
  1. Capitalism led to the decline of systematic warfare as the main way for producers to compete.
  2. Human evolution has been a struggle between individual and group selection, where societies with best productivity survived wars.
  3. The shift to the market economy allowed producers to compete directly, promoting productivity without the need for destructive warfare.

What Makes Men and Women Different?

Uncharted Territories • 2162 implied HN points • 04 Sep 23
🔬 Science Evolution Gender Physiology Psychology Sexuality
  1. Women and men think differently due to biological differences like having a uterus, leading to significant psychological variations.
  2. Men and women face different stakes in relationships and reproduction, with women having higher commitments and limitations due to their reproductive capacity.
  3. Evolutionary factors have shaped men to compete for access to females, leading to traits like dominance, aggression, physical strength, and risk-taking behavior.

Margaritas at the Mall

Kneeling Bus • 215 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Exercise Internet culture Urban life Evolution Consumer behavior
  1. The concept of exercise is portrayed as peculiar and counterintuitive in modern society, with emphasis on the trend towards optimizing the self.
  2. The digital age has paradoxically renewed focus on physical appearance and maintenance, despite the technological liberation that was once presumed.
  3. There is a critique on contemporary gym culture, illustrating a disconnect between the adapted physical ideals and the practical lifestyle in today's society.

The origins of power dynamics, or why chimps can't play baseball

The Garden of Forking Paths • 2122 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🔬 Science Evolution Biology Psychology Anthropology Human behavior
  1. Humans can throw objects accurately and at high speeds, shaping our modern power dynamics in society.
  2. Our unique shoulder adaptations allow for precise and fast throwing, giving us a competitive advantage over other species.
  3. The ability to use ranged weapons and throw projectiles from a distance has influenced human social structures and power dynamics.

Consciousness is Organic - redux

Field Guide to the Anthropocene • 196 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🔬 Science Consciousness Climate Evolution Biodiversity Ecology
  1. Consciousness is organic - a reminder that our minds are intertwined with the natural world, emphasizing the need to live in harmony with the environment.
  2. The concept of planetary intelligence explores the collective knowledge and responsibility of civilizations on a global scale, urging a shift towards more mindful and balanced technological growth.
  3. The human mind is identified as a key threat in the Anthropocene era, highlighting the necessity for self-improvement to address the planet's pressing issues.

How to Genetically Influence the Future Without Having Kids

Parrhesia • 456 implied HN points • 09 Dec 23
🔬 Science Genetics Ethics Evolution Technology Health
  1. Beliefs and ideologies are influenced by genetics, affecting the future through who has children.
  2. Changes in fertility patterns due to ideologies can impact the prevalence of certain traits in future generations.
  3. Advocating for genetic enhancement technologies can shape future generations' traits even if you choose not to have children.

But Seriously, Why The F*ck Do Giraffes Have Long Necks?

Insight Axis • 612 implied HN points • 12 Nov 23
🔬 Science Biology Genetics Evolution Knowledge Environment
  1. Giraffes have long necks to better reach food on tall trees, increasing their chances of survival and passing on their genes.
  2. In the true story of giraffes' evolution, genes are the main characters that hold knowledge for survival in their environment.
  3. Humans, unlike giraffes, can create their own knowledge using their minds, allowing them to survive in diverse environments and even outer space.

Natural selection: what's the effect size?

Wyclif's Dust • 2252 implied HN points • 07 Apr 23
🔬 Science Genetics Evolution Statistics
  1. Many polygenic scores are significantly correlated with the number of children a person has, indicating a link between genetics and fertility.
  2. The effect sizes of these correlations can be influenced by the accuracy of the polygenic scores, with noise potentially underestimating the true effects.
  3. Improving polygenic scores and considering the impact of rare genetic variants are important for better understanding the relationship between genetics, fertility, and education.

Evolution and Our Obsession with True Crime

The Garden of Forking Paths • 2004 implied HN points • 19 May 23
🎭️ Culture Evolution True Crime Psychology History Sociology
  1. True crime has been a longstanding part of human culture, dating back centuries.
  2. Our obsession with true crime may stem from our evolutionary history and the way our minds are wired for survival.
  3. Engaging with true crime stories allows us to simulate dangerous situations and hone our ability to detect and avoid threats.

The First Humans in Europe

Grey Goose Chronicles • 1257 implied HN points • 23 Jul 23
🔬 Science Archaeology Evolution Genetics
  1. Evidence suggests that the earliest human ancestors in Europe evolved in Europe before eventually moving to Africa.
  2. The arrival of different human species in Europe can be traced through archaeological findings and genetic studies.
  3. Neanderthals existed in Europe for a long time, and the arrival of modern humans led to significant changes and interactions.

The Course of Empire

Cosmographia • 658 implied HN points • 15 Oct 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Art history Paintings Civilization Evolution Literature
  1. The Colosseum's grandeur cannot truly be appreciated until seen in person, highlighting the awe-inspiring nature of ancient structures
  2. Historical patterns suggest that great civilizations may eventually decline due to lowered moral standards, cynicism, and frivolity, prompting reflection on the lessons of the past for modern societies
  3. The Course of Empire art series by Thomas Cole illustrates the rise and fall of civilizations, offering a visual representation of the cyclical nature of human history

The Future of Travel Writing

Talking Travel Writing • 648 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
🏝 Travel Future Narrative Diversity Evolution
  1. The future of travel writing involves a shift towards more diverse voices and a focus on sustainability and responsible travel.
  2. Guidebooks of the future will prioritize providing a human context to travel experiences that AI cannot offer.
  3. Travel writing is expected to see a resurgence, with an emphasis on self-reflection, diversity, and challenging traditional travel norms.

In cosmology, all our errors lean the same way. The implications are... interesting

The Egg And The Rock • 1650 implied HN points • 09 May 23
🔬 Science Cosmology Astronomy Evolution Theory Research
  1. In cosmology, our errors consistently lead us to underestimate the size and complexity of the universe.
  2. A major flaw in our approach may stem from an unexamined assumption underlying our theories.
  3. Shifting from a universe-as-rock paradigm to a universe-as-egg paradigm may help us better understand the universe's complexity.

Natural selection: I still have no clue about the effect size

Wyclif's Dust • 1501 implied HN points • 14 Apr 23
🔬 Science Genetics Research Simulation Data Analysis Evolution
  1. The MAF/effect size slope gets steeper below MAF of 0.1, but correction becomes less trustworthy.
  2. There is a slope in the EA/fertility relationship above MAF of 0.1, so it's not constant everywhere.
  3. The relationship between EA/fertility is smaller for rare alleles, but the impact of very rare mutations remains uncertain.

Debunking Pseudoscience: ‘Multimodal Models of Animal Sex’

Reality's Last Stand • 1434 implied HN points • 06 Mar 23
🔬 Science Biology Gender Research Evolution Critique
  1. The paper debunks the traditional binary model of biological sex by proposing a multimodal model.
  2. Current efforts in academia are influencing scientific research on sex by incorporating political motivations in the study.
  3. The study fails to provide evidence for more than two sexes and is criticized for misinterpreting sex differences in genetics, endocrinology, morphology, and behavior.

Introducing cogiatics (short)

Philosophy bear • 83 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Thoughts Evolution Psychology
  1. Cogiatics is the study of how thoughts evolve within an individual, different from memetics.
  2. Factors like fascination, emotional valence, and usefulness determine the selection of thoughts.
  3. Studying how thoughts evolve is underdone due to lack of introspection and under-theorized natural selection.

Accelerated Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in US Deer Populations

LIL Science • 471 implied HN points • 29 Aug 23
🔬 Science Virology Evolution Public Health
  1. SARS-CoV-2 can evolve quickly in deer populations and may become very different from current variants.
  2. Zoonotic transmission is the spread of a virus between humans and animals, which can lead to new variants that may be problematic for human immunity.
  3. Monitoring wildlife for zoonotic diseases is crucial to prevent the emergence of highly divergent variants that could infect humans.

Current status: it’s complicated

Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning • 789 implied HN points • 27 May 23
🔬 Science Evolution Genetics
  1. Human evolutionary science has shifted from complex models to explain the intricacies of our origins.
  2. Advances in genetics, DNA analysis, and paleoanthropology have revolutionized our understanding of human evolution.
  3. The concept of a single, simple origin of modern humans from Africa has evolved into a more complex and rich tapestry of multiple populations and dynamics.