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Proper correlation tests are performed mathematically, but it is always useful to simply visualize data as well.
The n-dimensional data in this image are not correlated in the three dimensions shown (X, Y, and color). The darker dots are randomly distributed as they should be.
They are beautiful in this view as well.
Enjoy.
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39 Alpha Team Zero is exploring new research concerning the agricultural practices of ant societies. Ants have evolved some potentially informative solutions for maintaining their own crops through time (Schultz & Brady 2008). Yes, ants farm other species, Wild, right?
While wandering around the literature, we stumbled across evidence of group selection in humans, a difficult phenomenon to identify and quantify (Leigh 2010).
The earliest known “... agrarian planters were shorter, weaker, more anemic, their teeth worse … Life may have been better before farming, but [farming] worked because it was more efficient for the species.” — Montefiore (2022, p8)
“Within a few thousand years after agriculture, a number of human societies were characterized by (1) explosive population growth (2) the domination of ecosystems (3) relentless exploitation of resources for the purpose of producing agricultural surplus (4) complex division of labor, and (5) evolutionary success of the group at the expense of individual autonomy and well-being.4“ — Gowdy & Krall (2013)
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Welcome to minimalist dispatches.
Here you will find small pieces of our in-progress research, random thoughts on the scientific world, and anything we find interesting. No embellishment.
This is a peak inside the collective mind of a small team of active scientists. Wandering, exploring,
enjoy.