Genealogy of Human Folly

Allelic genealogy and human evolution.

Genetic variation at most loci examined in human populations indicates that the (effective) population size has been approximately 10(4) for the past 1 Myr and that individuals have been genetically united rather tightly. Also suggested is that the population size has never dropped to a few individuals, even in a single generation. These impose important requirements for the hypotheses for the ...

The Nemesis of Folly

ing from consequences which were virtually certain to arrive, sooner or later. The exigencies of monthly publication preclude us from quoting figures which vary from day to day, and it must be enough to say that the number of cases at Gloucester Avhich have been diagnosed as small-pox has been so large that the utmost anxiety is reasonably felt as to when, and where, the epidemic will end. Thes...

The genealogy of genealogy of neurons

Two scenarios of neuronal evolution (monophyly and polyphyly) are discussed in the historical timeline starting from the 19th century. The recent genomic studies on Ctenophores re-initiated a broad interest in the hypotheses of independent origins of neurons. However, even earlier work on ctenophores suggested that their nervous systems are unique in many aspects of their organization and a pos...

A march of folly.

Folly, as defined by Barbara Tuchman, is “the pursuit of policy contrary to the self-interest of the constituency or state involved . . . folly is a policy that is counter-productive.” Current trends in cancer incidence and mortality rates, education, research, and societal mores and views combine to present a number of antithetical propositions. A review of these propositions highlights the ne...

Wisdom, Madness and Folly