current myths - like the belief in “ private ownership of coal ” being more fundamental than “ the atmospheric commons. ” Do that, and perhaps you can stop pooping into the temporal stream and be nice to the good people who live downstream who are the most important part of your community. They ’ re effectively your prisoners, but it ’ s your dilemma. The Bottom Line: We are continually faced with choices where the best outcome for the individual is the worst outcome for the whole_____(town, country, ecosystem, world, future, etc.) But paradoxically, humans cooperate more than microeconomic models expect us to.
Cultural Evolution
Summary: In much the same way that our behavior can be influenced simultaneously by both the selfish traits of the individual and cooperative/ bonding traits of the group, the programming of our “ virtual worlds ” evolves in a parallel evolutionary process we call “ culture. ” Humans have shown they can develop (and change) nearly unlimited types of culture depending on where and when they are born. We have empathy/mirror neurons, are incredibly social, care greatly about what others think about us, and can learn and imitate, etc. Because the virtual worlds in our minds can
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