"Anon."  wrote 

> I think the approach would be to correlate numbers/strengths of 
> altuistic behaviours with relatedness of individuals that an individual 
> interacts with.  This needs the right system to try it in - I'll leave 
> the problem of finding such a system to the naturalists out there.
> 
> Now, when do we start insulting each other?

Okay, the whole premise of this discussion is idiotic.

Hamilton's thinking has to do with solving a nonproblem.  
Supposedly the problem is that the origins of cooperative 
behavior is some kind of mystery at odds with principles 
of natural selection.  In reality no such principles 
exist.  There is no principle that says that individuals 
are the focus of NS.  There is no principle that says that 
the relatedness of individuals is determined by the path 
by which they recieved their genes rather than by the 
total composition of their morphology.  No such principles 
exist.  Consequently Hamilton's thinking is a solution to 
a nonexistent problem.

Jim
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 * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 4/2/04 6:07:12 AM