This includes the brain

Interestingly lactose tolerance increases as you moth further north. Give the absence in neolithic Rosetta Stone times its is pretty self-evident that a cultural development (diary farming) resulted in a change in our genes - ecological inheritance and natural selection co-evolved.A lovely phrase now (origin not remembered) We are hastily made over apes. One reason for this is cultural niche construction, so Darwin wins out over Lamarck. Overall the idea increases the number of feedback loops in the system. Cultural niche construction alters human history, but does not alter our genes. Here we have tools, landscape alternation etc. Environmental change modifies natural selection, for example changes consequent on our use of fire. A variation of 2, but here the genetic changes underpin culture itself. This includes the brain, cognition, language etc.Relevance to contemporary problemsWithout life the Earth would have the same atmosphere as our neighbouring planets. In the cambrian period we see Ediagaran niche construction in which early plant forms modify the environment enabling the cambrian explosion. In turn that results on a Cambrian niche construction which enables the change seen in the Ordovician age and so on.In effect niche construction modifies the carrying capacity of our environment, it can Rosetta Stone Software support more life. While standard evolution seeks this limit (K) as an exogenous variable, in niche construction it is also endogenous. Economists make similar assumptions.Now to the interesting bit, the diagram to the left indicates the way in which we can use our cultureNow to the interesting bit, the diagram to the left indicates the way in which we can use our culture. By focusing on markets as the sole regulatory mechanism we either create monopoly or the tragedy of the commons A wonderful closing side, with this simple, complex and critical phrase:Non-rivalrous, low excludability setting (low competition) have significant positive feedback effects in ecosystems facilitating rapid expansion of diversity, they change the K value.I doubt if there is any more important message around at the moment and one wonders if any economist will have the guts to take it up. The Grameen bank is an example and there are others, but the ideology of our current cultural niche may reduce rather than increase K with catastrophic consequences. As John says Biologists can't get through to main stream economists who are talking to Government.An hour of discussion follows, many and varied in nature. I ask about political and ideological niches and if they impact genetics, the answer is we don't know enough, but that conversation carries on over dinner looking at US and European differences, education and many other subjects. I also suggest (and gain agreement) that during periods of uncertainty the boundary between metaphor and reality blurs. I'll pick up on that in a future blog.So what is the IBM PC link? Well its an example of the earthworm, a fundamentally flawed product suborns Rosetta Stone Greek its ecology to satisfy its deficiencies.