Most of you have heard about the God gene by now. Strictly speaking, it isn't a God "gene" but a God allele. It's the variant that makes you believe in God. According to its proponents, most people are homozygous for this allele. That's why it's not their fault.
Evolutionary psychology has lots of similar examples of behavioral genes that put the blame on genetics. Here's a short video that explains the idea of genes controlling behavior.
[Hat Tip: John Wilkins, who doesn't find it funny because he's a reductionist mechanist and an adaptationist.]
So, I have an allele that makes me find this video funny? ;-)
ReplyDeleteI never said I was an adaptationist. That's a slander by you. I am a satisficing drifter. I got that gene from my dad.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, thanks for putting this video up.
ReplyDeleteMy genes (which I got primarily from my mother, obviously) made me think of the following cocktail-party scene:
Brad: "Hey Rob, what did you get up to at work this week? Anything exciting?"
Rob: "Well, uh, I punched John Cleese in the head, twice"
(sound of crickets. Party over)