Tribes . . .

(from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/books/review/the-social-conquest-of-earth-by-edward-o-wilson.html)
on  ‘The Social Conquest of Earth,’ by Edward O. Wilson
". . . one can stack up log-style all humans alive today into a cube that’s about a mile on each side, easily hidden in the Grand Canyon. And all the ants on earth would fit into a cube of similar size. More important, humans and certain insects are the planet’s “eusocial” species — the only species that form communities that contain multiple generations and where, as part of a division of labor, community members sometimes perform altruistic acts for the benefit of others. . .

. . . Wilson’s own theory is far too extreme, though. He adopts a Manichaean view of evolution, in which group selection is responsible for all of our virtues (“honor, virtue and duty”), while individual selection produces nothing but sin (“selfishness, cowardice and hypocrisy”). But it’s long been known that unrelated individuals can benefit from repeated cooperation with one another, so long as there are mechanisms in place to encourage reciprocity and punish betrayal. There is now evidence — from computational modeling, observations of real-world human interactions and laboratory studies — showing that our altruistic and eusocial choices are sensitive to past interactions with individuals and that we are inclined to reward cooperators and punish cheats and free-riders. This evidence suggests that group conflict is not the sole force that has shaped human eusociality. Wilson must be familiar with this research, but doesn’t acknowledge how it complicates his account. . . "

What do you think?

Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2014  Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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Something Fishy . . .

Missouri police office Darren Wilson says that he could not have done anything differently to have prevented Brown's death. Wilson, who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown,a total of 12 times on August 9 according to autopsy reports also said he had a "clean conscience" and that he was "simply doing his job", a surprisingly cold, over-simplified conclusion to a complex and real situation that has evoked extremely emotional reactions from many people.

Granted, the officer felt that Michael Brown was a threat to his own life.  He is a police officer.  He has been trained to react when encountering just such a situation.

Granted, Officer Wilson was taken aback when a twice-shot, bleeding but unarmed Brown came running towards him again.  Was his training inadequate in providing him a tactic for subduing a wounded man instead of shooting him multiple times in the head?

Granted, Michael Brown may have been belligerent, large and scary to Wilson, but Wilson was and is not the complete justice system contained in one human package. 

Granted, the grand jury rendered their decision but the conduct of the prosecutor and Wilson himself show a remarkably insensitive disposition to the entire episode.

Something is fishy and less than 'just' in this situation.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html 


OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet