We also looked at the relationship between behaviors and identified 3 distinct strategies, with maximization being the most popular strategy early on. Interestingly, this bottom-up approach also seemed to capture the underlying subsistence structure, which we recover quite nicely here. (4/5)

New paper with @jordantkemp.bsky.social and Luis Bettencourt is now on arXiv: “Spatial Selection and the Multiscale Dynamics of Urban Change”. We use the Price equation and Chicago data to show how fine-scale spatial sorting shapes macro growth trends. Read it here: arxiv.org/pdf/2511.06165

IC2S2 2026 registration is open! Explore the 2026 conference here ➡️ ic2s2-2026.org ✔️ Submissions open December 15th ✔️ Keynotes will be announced between now and February ✔️ Full program of selected talks and tutorials will be available in late April

I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy! doi.org/10.1007/s137...

This results in what is commonly called Vavilovian mimicry, after Vavilov, the botanist who first proposed it. You'll also sometimes see these plants referred to as secondary crops. Some of these mimics eventually became intentionally cultivated crops in their own right.

Looking for #culturalevolution methods advice. We will run a survey to estimate the degree and nature of #sociallearning in a local population (a US country). Are there any standard survey instruments or social psychology scales for this? I can find only partly relevant stuff. Please help!

Looking for #culturalevolution methods advice. We will run a survey to estimate the degree and nature of #sociallearning in a local population (a US country). Are there any standard survey instruments or social psychology scales for this? I can find only partly relevant stuff. Please help!

A German soccer federation executive committee member says it's time to consider a World Cup boycott because of the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Maybe Greenland could invade us instead?

Great idea. All businesses should post this.

Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff. Game on.

This post reminds me of the Q&A I did recently with @twaring.bsky.social about an evolutionary transition in humans, though I don't recall discussing artifacts in our chat. Would language count as an artifact? I'm thinking about oral histories etc. that passed down knowledge long before texts.

Our collection on Decision-making in structured groups in npj Complexity is open and accepting manuscripts through May! It's a broad call, covering anything from animal societies to human social systems of all sorts. Learn more: www.nature.com/collections/...

Excited for the new Transmissions episode on ASU's Sarah Mathew on how human warfare evolved, and her fieldwork in Kenya. Watch here: youtu.be/eUqEcxf5uBQ?... New Episodes monthly! Created by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social and @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social CC: @arizonastateuni.bsky.social

This month's paper roundup is live! This time around we've got 2D billiards that can compute, an atmosphere that shouldn't exist, a Roman construction site, and more. Check it out here: www.reviewertoo.com/paper-roundu... 🧪

Rep. Suozzi Confronts Deplorable Jan 6 Rioters, Minneapolis Mayor Tells ICE To “Get The F**k Out,” and Rep. Kelly Leads Charge To Impeach Kristi Noem

Some 15 years ago my colleague Parry Clarke said to me, "Dude stop complaining and write your own stats book!" So I did. It definitely changed my life, and I'm glad it has had a positive impact on others.

Just in case you need a visual: xkcd.com/1379/

Wikipedia is truly one of the greatest things on the Internet. It is absolutely incredible, and must be preserved at all costs.

Remember the 1920s when nobody was left-handed

I am ecstatic about the implications that large models have on the viability of generative grammar and the linguistic turn, and yet I am able to maintain a critical perspective on the tech industry. It's not that hard.

Cultural Evolution (Methods) paper alert 🚨

Thanks, @nautil.us for including my book Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer in your top 10 must reads to ring in the new year! nautil.us/the-nautilus...

🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social

Happy 100th birthday to Dick Van Dyke!

And in the meantime, check out my last Q&A with @twaring.bsky.social on the tensions between genes and culture and individuals and groups in human evolution — and why he thinks we might be headed in the direction of more collective, cultural evolution.

NSF - Forced reorg - POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements) - Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …) I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing. “Details matter” 🙃

#SomeGoodNews A former Dyson engineer is rolling out a revolution for household chores in deprived communities after inventing an off-grid, flat-packable washing machine. The Divya washing machine operates a 30-min wash cycle where it completes a 5kg load needing only a few minutes of manual turning

How likely are you to invest in a new business? Ask your partner to marry you? Move to a new country? A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance — and how those effects persist across generations.

For the record, I will be swearing in on Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower after I’m elected.

2018, Russia: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I'll just wait four years." 2022, Qatar: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I guess I'll wait another four years..." 2026: So I guess the joke is on me.

I have decided that I can't pretend to be an ethnomathematics researcher and self-ascribed "string theorist" (anthropologist of string and knots?) without being able to tie a khipu. So here goes. A project for the holidays. Will update my progress later.

There is some low-ranked devil in Hell who needs a promotion for quietly installing screens to display video ads on every square inch of every American airport

Yessssssssss. Happy promotion to full professor to meeeeeee

The real question is not "Why is Bluesky so left-coded," the real question is "Why can't the right exist in a social media environment without algorithmic assistance, where people can ignore them"

Nice

Does anyone want a survivorship bias shortbread

The Europe based volunteer built database links raids, agents, vehicles & legal structures, aiming to break the cycle of official secrecy.

I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio

In light of record submission rates and a large volume of AI-generated slop, SocArXiv recently implemented a policy requiring ORCIDs linked in the OSF profile of submitting authors, and narrowing our focus to social science subjects. Today we are taking two more steps: /1

Today’s xkcd made me cry. In a good way. xkcd.com/3172/

Finland uses “Russia-gauge” rails. They are going to move to European compatible rail gauge for their own resilience. This is what we should be thinking about for moving to open social away from American platforms: it should come with significant spending commitments & is absolutely necessary.

Will PRIVATIZING Canadian MEDICARE WORK? Researchers compared 25 wealthy countries. The more each relies on FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES to deliver healthcare ...the WORSE LIFE EXPECTANCY gets. www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

My favorite piece of content today.

There is no debate -- “An order requiring the performance of a military duty or act may be disobeyed when such act is unlawful.” Manual for Courts-Martial United States (2024), Part IV, ¶ 14.c.(2)(a)(i) www.sja.marines.mil/Portals/135/... #HOLDFAST

Cultural evolution postdoc alert 🚨

About a week ago I was interviewed by the Sharp and complex mind of @elisecutts.bsky.social, for Reviewer Too. Best interview experience you’ll ever get on complex subjects! Check it: bsky.app/profile/elis... Elise cuts (ha ha, pun intended) straight to the implications and interest. Very fun!