[From Ted Cloak (2008.04.26.0909 MST)]
If I haven't already said so, anyone is free to use the show for any
legitimate purpose, but not to change it without consulting me.
Dawkins was kind enough to cite my "Is a cultural ethology possible?" (CEP,
1975) in The Selfish Gene, and more extensively in The Extended Phenotype,
and of course I've returned the favor many times.
In CEP I broached the idea that genes and cultural instructions were primary
in evolution. Then, later, Dawkins published a theoretical paper I wrote
about natural selection in Oxford Surveys in Evolutionary Biology (1986), a
journal he edited. So of course we did communicate by snail mail and
telephone at that time. Later we met face to face at a conference in Los
Alamos, NM.
So I'd have to say that we didn't exactly work together, but rather in
parallel.
If the email address I have for him is still good, I'll point him to the
Powerpoint presentation and hope he responds.
Best regards,
Ted
[From Rick Marken (2008.04.24.1020)]
Bill Powers (2008.04.23.2025 MDT)--
Ted Cloak has put together a PowerPoint presentation in which he
introduces PCT to anthropologists and others in the context of
culture acquisition...
This is a magnificent piece of work. There are points I could quibble
about, but all the basic ideas are there, presented in a truly
ingenious way suitable for introducing anyone to PCT.
I have only watched part one so far but I completely concur with this
assessment. I tend to be a little (well, actually a lot) more star
struck than Bill so I am all atwitter about the fact that Ted worked
with Dawkins. I am a big fan of Dawkins for the same reason that I am
a fan of Pinker; I don't always agree with what they say but I love
how they say it. And they are both _very_ bright. If we could get
Dawkins interested in PCT I think that would definitely get people's
attention.
Anyway, the presentation is really great. I would like to show part 1
to my class next week (I'm currently teaching a Freshman Seminar on
"Personal Control" and this presentation is better than any lecture I
could give;-), if that's OK with you, Ted.
Best
Rick
···
--
Richard S. Marken PhD
rsmarken@gmail.com