[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fR-rrhEBoutUHtBXYBsgBr5xnwcNA2and5MTd1QjObBc":3,"$fxiVrTQIIKwliZPQE-LwJMfbnLbY4lJzOn8MO6OhyCAU":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},184326,"John Maynard Smith","J",24,null,"john-maynard-smith",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":97},[14,22,30,36,42,48,54,66,77,86],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3743830,"I think we invent jargon because it saves times talking to one-another.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":26,"source":27,"quote_tag":28,"commentary":29},3155441,"In living organisms, nucleic acid molecules are the only indefinite hereditary replicators, or at least they were until the invention of language and music.",6,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nJohn Maynard Smith, a renowned evolutionary biologist, likely penned this quote in the mid-20th century, a time of great scientific discovery and debate about the nature of heredity. As a historian, I note that Smith was a key figure in the development of game theory and evolutionary theory, and his work often explored the intersections of biology, philosophy, and mathematics. This quote, in particular, reflects his interest in the complex relationships between genetic information and cultural transmission.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nOn the surface, this quote seems to highlight the unique role of nucleic acid molecules in passing on genetic information. However, upon closer examination, it reveals a more profound paradox: the idea that heredity, traditionally understood as a biological process, is not solely the domain of genetic replication. Instead, Smith suggests that language and music, as forms of cultural transmission, have become new forms of \"indefinite hereditary replicators.\" This challenges the notion that heredity is solely a biological phenomenon, raising questions about the boundaries between nature and culture.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, consider the ways in which your work or creative pursuits are influenced by both genetic and cultural factors. Recognize that your individual talents and abilities, while shaped by biology, are also subject to the forces of cultural transmission, and that the information you pass on to others can take many forms, including language, music, and other forms of cultural expression.",{"id":31,"quote_text":32,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":33,"source":34,"quote_tag":35,"commentary":9},3155428,"I can’t go around believing in a God that believes suffering is good for me.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":37,"quote_text":38,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":39,"source":40,"quote_tag":41,"commentary":9},3155413,"Paradoxically, it has turned out that game theory is more readily applied to biology than to the field of economic behavior for which it was originally designed.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":43,"quote_text":44,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":45,"source":46,"quote_tag":47,"commentary":9},3155399,"You couldn’t have human society without language.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":49,"quote_text":50,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":51,"source":52,"quote_tag":53,"commentary":9},3155381,"Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is the only workable explanation that has ever been proposed for the remarkable fact of our own existence, indeed the existence of all life wherever it may turn up in the universe.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":55,"quote_text":56,"author_id":5,"source_id":57,"has_image":18,"author":58,"source":59,"quote_tag":60,"commentary":9},2476064,"Evolutionary game theory is a way of thinking about evolution at the phenotypic level when the fitnesses of particular phenotypes depend on their frequencies in the population.",4,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[61],{"id":62,"tag":63},5456419,{"id":64,"tag_name":65},166,"games",{"id":67,"quote_text":68,"author_id":5,"source_id":57,"has_image":18,"author":69,"source":70,"quote_tag":71,"commentary":9},2476048,"Mathematics without natural history is sterile, but natural history without mathematics is muddled.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[72],{"id":73,"tag":74},5456405,{"id":75,"tag_name":76},2867,"evolution",{"id":78,"quote_text":79,"author_id":5,"source_id":57,"has_image":18,"author":80,"source":81,"quote_tag":82,"commentary":9},2476035,"Paradoxically, it has turned out that game theory is more readily applied to biology than to the field of economic behavior for which it was originally designed",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[83],{"id":84,"tag":85},5456389,{"id":64,"tag_name":65},{"id":87,"quote_text":88,"author_id":5,"source_id":57,"has_image":18,"author":89,"source":90,"quote_tag":91,"commentary":9},2476015,"Scientific theories tell us what is possible; myths tell us what is desirable. Both are needed to guide proper action.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[92],{"id":93,"tag":94},5456374,{"id":95,"tag_name":96},352,"science",{"currentPage":98,"totalPages":99,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":100},1,3,10]