Here, we’ll discuss why Michael Jordan and Eminem are smart, but their IQs might not reflect this. Who cares about intelligence anyway? What you want is to succeed in life. This article will explain that you have to be intelligent to succeed, but you don’t need a high IQ. And since there are an infinite number of ways of succeeding, there is an infinite number of intelligence definitions. And of course, we cannot measure success without knowing what it is. If intelligence is the extent to which someone is successful (not their capability to be successful), then we must define what success is before we can say if someone is intelligent. In this sense, we are working backwards - taking a result and concluding on the intelligence of the individual instead of the current paradigm which tests the individual and applies a degree of intelligence based on their score. A score which no one should care about unless we are correlating IQ with success, ie predicting success on the basis of IQ test scores.

Potential for Success vs Actual Success

Why is intelligence correlated with acheived success and not capacity to acheive success? IQ tests will measure your capacity to do something - not what you’ve already done, so our new definition adds that extra element of achievement. But why? The logic is, nature does not reward talent, it rewards acheivement. There are two kinds of energy - potential and kinetic. But as you know from 8th grade science class, only kinetic energy is actually dissipating - doing what nature wants it to do. So, we define success based on what nature wants for you. If you have talent and have done nothing with it, then you are lacking somewhere. It goes against nature to have unused talents and it is very much an ability, or a capacity to convert talents into actual achievement. We get annoyed at successful people with little talent, but the fact is, they have the most important talent of all - the ability to acheive. So, it’s part of the equation here. Nature does not care about potential, so why put it in your definition of intelligence? The new paradigm is: we all have the same level of potential. Or to be more specific: any differences we have in terms of potential success are insignificant. I’m not saying all men are created equal, I’m saying all men have relatively the same potential for success. Of course, if actual achievement is figured into the calculation for intelligence, it implies that your intelligence level is not static, since your success level is not static. Indeed it is not - one might have a real string of “intelligent years” only to succumb to lesser intelligent years down the road. Success comes and goes and everything in the universe is in motion - how could your intelligence level stay the same?

The Scientific Definition of Success

Right, so what is success? Success is defined by how well a system dissipates energy. Period. All other definitions are simply anecdotal or are in some way derivative of this. Look at any situation - human, or otherwise - and this definition can be applied, though it won’t always be immediately obvious.  This is why we can say that we all have relatively the same potential for success. All systems deal with energy and The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the energy of any system is dissipating - ie the order is decreasing. A classic example is an ice-cube melting. Energy is dissipating when the ice becomes water. And the ice cube is successful (yes, there are successful ice-cubes) to the extent that it melts. The faster it melts, ie the faster it moves from a state of order to a state of disorder, the more successful it is. This obviously must be translated to the human experience. Here we go.

The Human Definition of Success 

Why are you on this earth? Why do humans exist? People have been pondering these questions as long as anyone can remember and the answers seem to all be incomplete. I would be silly to think this conclusion should be different, but I’ll take a stab at it anyway.  To keep it simple, I’ll start at the top of the hierarchy (human drives) and move down the ladder (energy dissipation).

3. Human level - what do humans want to do? Pass on their genes

2. Gene Level - why do genes want to be passed on? This is simply one way for them to dissipate energy - by organizing themselves into complex structures which fit into complex low-energy environments or holes. Think of evolution as a system to create keys for an infinite number of key holes. Fitting into a key hole would be how the energy is dispersed, so species mold themselves into the shapes of keys which will fit into the key holes. The other way for genes to dissipate energy is to die and decompose. This is coincidentally our other big goal in life. But since life dissipates energy better than death, most of us try to hold out as long as we can. Evolution is like a pool of water cut off from the ocean. Eventually a series of streams find their way to the ocean.  Imagine a virtually infinite number of streams and each little stream is like a form of life. Genes are made of matter too and the same behavior seen by the water can be seen by all living things. We’re all just trying to make it to the ocean.

1. Energy level - why does energy want to be dissipated? If you believe the Big Bang Theory (and we’re pretty much booking on it here), then a long time ago the universe was concentrated into a very tiny tiny space. That was the pinnacle of energy concentration and when it exploded, the energy began dispersing itself. Another visual is that of a swig of milk being poured into a hot cup of coffee. The milk is initially concentrated into one spot and slowly starts dispersing itself through the remainder of the cup. The paths it takes will be varied but you can be assured that it will always move from an area of high concentration to low concentration. That’s just how the universe is set up.

Though we are biologically here to pass on our genes, I am not implying that the most successful people are the ones with the most children and grandchildren. Evolution is not quite that simple. As stated in the article GPS - Genetic Proliferation Strategy, one can pass on their genes in other ways besides procreation. Cultural evolution has broadend the definition of success by associating culture and collective thought with biological gene pools - allowing artists, thinkers, leaders, and atheletes to be successful beyond their procreative efforts. Success now includes rushing for 2000 yards in a season or winning the Nobel Prize. No one would have cared 20,000 years ago, and even if they did, no future generations would have remembered. Success means fulfilling the goals of both biological and cultural evolution - with a noticable favor towards cultural evolution. This is why we value celebrities over good parents.

The Goals of  Biological & Cultural Evolution

And what are the goals of biological and cultural evolution? Here’s another bulletted list

Biological:

- Main goal: conceive and raise children who are in state to do the same and whose children too are in state to do the same (ie, raise a family and/or have lots of sex)

- Main goal, second best: help facilitate the above goal for members of the same gene pool and bearing that, a closely related gene pool (ie, contribute to society)

- Supportive goal: amass resources to help you in the above two goals (ie, get rich, strong, and popular)

Cultural:

 - Contribute to a belief system, since belief systems help unite individuals towards their common goal: genetic proliferation. Look closely and you’ll see that statistically, people who have followed religions have been more successful, according to the definitions of biological evolution, than those who have not. Indeed, the family that prays together stays together. And there is strength in numbers. Atheists, be they right or not, are all alone - just take a look at the US electorate.

- Create art. It is the artists of societies who have been able to pull the emotional puppet strings of the people. They are nothing more than psychological drug dealers. Our brains are set up to be emotionally manipulable. Just look at your teenage kid in his room all day listening to System of a Down. In a sense they have been able to gain a slight control over people in a society and thereby unite others to their own ends. Atheletes are in here too. Don’t tell me Roger Federer isn’t a painter. Everybody loves an artist - even a bad one. The good ones are the most revered members of society. 

Being Intelligent Means Being Successful 

With these being the goals and their achievement being “success”, intelligent beings are thusly the ones who actually achieve them. There may be a rapper out there as good as Eminem, but if he doesn’t get noticed and has to keep working at Burger King, it will be because he was less intelligent. Sure, luck plays a part in many instances, but statistically over the breadth of the population, intelligence is translated as success and success is a reflection of intelligence. There may be another tennis player as talented as Roger Federer but it is Federer’s psychology, his intelligence which have gotten him the results. And notice how his intelligence developed. He used to be a head case who was hot and cold on the courts - but in recent years he’s found the psychological plane to allow him to be hot most of the time.

So no more discussing how some people have book smarts and others have emotional intelligence or social intelligence, or whatever the flavor-of-the-month definition is, and that we’re all different. The truth is, some people are intelligent and others are not, but we all can be intelligent. Thankfully nature has left us many different ways to be intelligent, many paths we can take to get to that ocean. Some will involve using our emotions effectively and some will involve brute psychological force. Both are intelligent if both are successful. So, don’t be fooled by your IQ scores. If you’re successful in terms of the ways defined here, then you’re intelligent. If you’re not all that successful as per the definitions above, then your intelligence is lacking. The beauty of it all is, by means of study, practice, focus, and a good psychology, you’re in complete control.

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Be forewarned, for those looking for some new romantic, intangible definition of this deified emotion, this article will leave you with a sneer. The definition of love is so clear in my head, that I can hardly imagine the time when it wasn’t - when pop songs trying to crystallize it would almost make sense to me. I used to love those songs. Now I can only think about how the singer has no idea what he’s talking about. Indeed I too wear a sneer.

The Moral Animal 
A book on evolutionary psychology called The Moral Animal changed my life.  It convinced me how all-powerful and all-encompassing the drive to pass on one’s genes is. Everything we do is somehow directed to passing on our genes. If we really are a product of evolution, how could it be otherwise? If we look at any and every living thing on the planet, we easily agree that their sole purpose is to pass on their genes. Why would it be different with us? Because we are conscious beings? It took billions of years for humans to develop from lower life forms. Conscious thought is relatively new.

Reproductive Strategies 
So, part of the definition of love requires us to look at our reproductive strategies and see what mechanisms would help us attain the goals implicit in these strategies. We pass on our genes through reproduction. Sounds obvious, but there is a twist to it outside the scope of this article (read the Moral Animal for more). Reproduction has two parts to it - conceiving children and raising them. Love is the motivational drug that is present in both of these parts to ensure we partake in conceiving (romantic love) and raising children (parental love). Sure sex feels good, and that’s obviously another adaptation to ensure we have lots of sex, but attraction is the seed of love, and there will be no sex without attraction - no matter how good sex feels. Think of the most unattractive, repulsive member of the opposite sex you can imagine, and then think about engaging in sex with them. Who’s winning out here: your brain or your genitalia?…. OK, let’s move on.

Love vs Attraction 
Attraction is low-level, potentially short-term love. It can blossom into love, or it can fade minutes after the person starts talking. Love, is the more committed, long-term version, where, not only do you want to have sex with this person, you want to see the resulting children grow up. (Remember, to our 10,000 year-old bodies and the Catholic Church, there is no sex without children). And that’s why love is there. It’s your attorney signing the papers for you. It commits and legal binds you to this partnership. If we didn’t have love, then we would just be a species who produces herds of children, but feels no duty to raise them. Some animals can get away with churning out children who somehow make it far enough in life to propagate the species, but not us - which is why I don’t sleep in on Sunday mornings.

Real love
Van Halen’s song “How will I know when it’s love”. It’s when the decision has been made and your body has committed to it. You focus completely on the good things and foresee all the bad. The cap off the toothpaste goes completely unnoticed as you grab her toothbrush and imagine that it’s some romantic way of kissing her when she’s not even there. That’s love. You’re no longer in the “let’s think about it and test this guy/girl out” phase. Something solidifies in your brain, some set of chemicals join and become fixed, setting up a group of thought patterns and neural pathways which are all but impossible to deviate from. Doesn’t matter what your friends or family say. You become intensely focused. Which is why you start to hear love songs everywhere and take in these romantics lyrics as if they were scripture. Just like when you decide to buy a new car and you start seeing that car everywhere on the road where you hadn’t really noticed it before. You start to think about marriage and spending the rest of your life with this person. Indeed this is what nature had programmed you to do (among other things).

That’s not to say it will work out. HA! You may break up within months and be in love again shortly thereafter, but, rest assured, you were in love then. You just didn’t succeed. Like a lioness who commits to catching a zebra and fails after a 200 yard sprint. She’s upset and discouraged, but she’ll be back soon - she’ll have to be. And you too will commit again someday.

So, now you know
If you are a romantic, do not be disparaged by this scientific definition of this wondrous emotion. Does it make it any less exciting or beautiful? I love my wife, love my kids, love my family. Now I know where it comes from, and it’s only more fascinating and glorious. It’s as beautiful as a sunset, as a tree, or a work of art - all of these are part of this incredible universe. There is not one thing more beautiful than another.

That’s just my opinion though, maybe I’m way off.

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We hereby define a new term used to describe our “strategy” in life. Are you a giver, a taker, a lover, a fighter, macho guy, sensitive guy, Madonna, slut, etc - it’s all really your GPS.

If evolutionary psychologists are right - and they do seem to be gaining credibility and attention these days - then our personalities are largely endowed to us by Mother Nature during the process of evolution. In fact, your personality is simply an adaptation created and managed to help you navigate your environment and successfully proliferate your genes.

Notice we talk about a gene proliferation strategy - not a sexual strategy. We all have a sexual strategy (and not the “ok, you go up to her and start talking then I bust in after like 10 seconds and ask you if you want a drink and then I’ll just ask her and her friend if they want something to drink, and then we’re in”), but this is a subset of our gene proliferation strategy.

To explain - we do not need to have sex to proliferate our genes. Sure, we largely prefer it, but because our genes are also in our family members, expanding the gene pool goes beyond sex, and even child rearing, to encapsulate altruism and good old-fashioned brotherly love. My aunt has never had children but in a way, she ensures that her genes get passed on by giving me 20 bucks on my birthday. That’s part of her gene proliferation strategy but has nothing to do with reproduction.

Let’s explore the gene proliferation strategy.

Lots of personality
We are an expansive species. So much variation in our gene pool - unlike crocodiles; they’re pretty much all the same. But there are all kinds of people, personality-wise. And this variation, this range of personalities, was simply developed to allow humans to expand as a species. One sort of person can live within a range of environmental circumstances and another sort of person can live under a slightly different range of environmental circumstances. Put all the different personalities together and we’re covering a good bit of environmental circumstances. And indeed humans are doing well. We’re friggin’ everywhere and it is the variations of our personalities which have allowed us to do so.

And just what are the various personalities? I guess we all know them, but they remain tricky to define. Jung called them “archetypes”. You’ve got dominant people, meek people, introverts, extroverts, friendly, hostile, emotional, stoic, principled, loose, athletic, awkward, etc etc. These traits are largely inherited but nature has given you some flack to play around with. Shy? You can develop yourself to be less shy. But in the end, your genetic proliferation strategy will be in line with that of a shy person.

To understand the strategies, we must first take a look at the “game”. Relating this to football - there’s no point in explaining the strategy of “passing to the side lines when there’s little time on the clock and you’re down” if you don’t know what those 22 people are doing on the field in the first place. So, take a step back to understand what we’re doing on this planet.

Right. I’ll try to keep it short and completely remove any philosophical, religious, or existential underpinnings and start from the level of biology. We are on this planet to proliferate our genes. No other reason. Everything we do is somehow related to this. Go to work, go to school, have sex, raise children, pick your nose, jog a mile, drive a car, go skiing, even taking drugs is related somehow to gene proliferation. You may not understand how smoking pot contributes to gene proliferation, and it is indeed a stretch, but rest assured, it does. Note: I do not encourage anyone to smoke pot - especially if it’s shwag and you got it from a sketchy source.

But if we can continue in agreement with this goal, all this does seem to fit together. So, genetic proliferation is the game, and we each need to play a role in that. Some do it by raising a family, some do it by promiscuous and commitment-free sex, some do it by joining the priesthood. And all of these options can be seen as strategies - strategies which are linked to certain personalities in order to execute them. Obviously, it takes a certain type of person to do any of the aforementioned. And each one of us can take a look at ourselves and match up the way we are and the things we do with possible genetic proliferation strategies.

Let’s take a few examples of stereotypical personality types and see how their personality lends to gene proliferation.
Men and women being the two sides of the coin obviously have very different strategies for gene proliferation, so we’ll split the types between them.

Women
The untouchable beauty - yes, she’s a bitch but if she were nice, the guys would never leave her alone. Her bitchiness is a survival mechanism. They all want her and the goods go to the highest bidder. Anyone who isn’t up to par is held at bay with a cold shoulder and a stoic gaze. The strategy is to be cold and aloof, get some rich guy to adore her and take care of her and the kids. She will probably be doomed to an unstable life since her husband - being the highest bidder - has a lot of bidding material to throw around. Conclusion: Nature wants her to “win the jackpot” getting a huge amount of resources from one man to raise her kids. She will effectively do this and ensure her progeny will also follow the “high road” by enrolling them in etiquette school.

The awkward, shy type - she will most probably find love, usually from a warm and loving man (we’ll get to him in a second). She’ll be a good mother and raise her children with love and care. Were she to not get a family of her own, you can bet she’d be a great support to close family members with their own offspring. Conclusion: Nature wants her to have kids of her own and a fairly mundane existence. Barring that, she can simply lend a hand taking care of her family’s kids

The slut - she probably looks pretty good but feels pretty bad about herself. This leaves her with the possibility to be with lots of men but her low self-esteem will not allow her to stay in a lasting relationship. She is sweet, yet frail and insecure and constantly seeking appreciation. Since being with one man for a longer period is not working out, she will pass on her genes by seeking the “support” of these sooters - getting little bits of support many many times. Conclusion: Nature wants her to have children and get fleeting support from the men she sees.

The prude - her sexuality has been repressed and she is pushed into the role of caring mother. A few kids taken well care of will suffice in getting those genes to future generations. Complete devotion will be expected of her man and he will not be the pick of the litter, but what he’s got her gives to her. Conclusion: she will settle for the doormat type of man, squeeze the life out of him and kill his sexuality accordingly.

The bitch - “help is hard to come by”. This belief means she struggles to get anything. Her interactions with others are largely hostile. Her intimate relationships will also be a battle, but she will squeeze out what she needs to raise some kids - bitchy kids… Conclusion: Nature wants her to “take what she can get” and push away those trying to take from her.

Men
The jock - athletic, right? this lends him to genetic credibility and makes him attractive to potential mates. He gets around. He feels no real need to settle with one woman. He takes on an alpha-doggish dominant personality and operates on an unsophisticated level - which proves effective to a certain point. Conclusion: Nature wants him to bone excessively. Either he’ll eventually settle down at an age well past the national average and be faithful, or he’ll marry early and continue his sexual destiny with extramarital affairs. Women will have a love/hate relationship with him - adoring him for his manliness and loathing him for his…manliness.

The comic - gets along with everyone and keeps the groups laughing. Of course, this is mostly done out of insecurity and fear of hostility. This is perhaps slightly dishonest. This can be interpreted as a lack of strength - were he strong enough, he wouldn’t have to care what the group thought. This lack of strength is translated to half-ass attempts at relationships and sexual congress. The fear and edginess can be translated as suppressed sexual energy. Conclusion: He will joke his way into the pants of a really nice girl, masturbate often in his regret that he wasn’t a leader type, and steadily shink over the years as the weight of the group bears down on him. He’ll be a pretty good father and provide well for a few polite children.

The nerd - though it sounds like an insult, the archetype can be the potential “intelligence jock”. Of course, there are nerds ranging from the classic computer geeks with glasses to the Hardvard professor with the tweed jacket and pipe. What unites them under one category is their lack of success with women. They excel on a group level - not an individual level. What I mean is, their gift is to the group, whereas the jock’s gift is to some lucky gal. So, nerds will not enjoy the adoration of women, but rather of groups, institutions, and governments. they are smart, so the game plays out in their head. This makes them laregly introverted and distant. Conclusion: Nature wants them to serve the group, and not get too distracted with women or even family. They’ll be decent dads but less decent husbands. Nice people but no one you want to spend too much time with.

The leader - Again, a testament to the diversity of personality. No need to have good genes for physical strength or even intelligence - just need to get shit done. Coordinating and getting results do wonders for your gene proliferation. Confidence is a must and it is attractive to both the group and the fairer sex. But they walk a tight rope between their instinctive drive to spread their seed and the moral standards of the group they are serving. You’ll find a fantastic example in Bill Clinton. Conclusion: Nature wants them to impregnate many and serve the community - and their personalities are built up to just both. Screw being a dad. These are some lovable charismatic people, but their families can barely stand them.

The doormat - just trying to keep everyone happy and on his side. Low self-esteem and a confused sense of purpose keep him in dire need of others. He’ll say yes to everyone and everyone senses his desperation and treats him like the doormat he subconsciously professes to be. Conclusion: Nature wants him to get a decent wife, have kids and live his life as a slave to work and family.

The skirtchaser - not necessarily good looking yet somehow attractive to women. Confidence is key and he’s got tons of it - largely in the “I just don’t give a fuck” sense. If he had confidence in another sense (ie competent and virtuous), nature would push him more in the role of leader. He actually has low self-esteem and dislikes his place on earth so is simply out to “go get his” by nailing every chick he can. Conclusion: Nature wants him to lay lots of pipe and impregnate as many women as possible. Finding proper support for raising the children is the women’s problem. So, he is the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. Hearts will be broken but genes will undoubtably be passed on.

The bad-ass - the male equivalent of the bitch. He’s angry and ready to show it. A low self-esteem and continuous struggle in this world leaves him with nothing to lose. He what he needs is a big hug, but he’d kick your ass for suggesting as much. He gets want he wants by force or intimidation. Would rather people just gave it to him courteously but that’s just not in the cards. Conclusion: Nature gives him no freebees, so demands that he take what he can get. He will have children to he same way as he has everything else. His genes will be passed on to the next round.

Stop stop stop before you comment on how this is a tremendous generalization. I know this and embrace it. These are just some of the “primary colors” of personality - indeed we are all tapestries. And these are just a few examples. But from this, I hope you get a rough understanding of the “game” we all find ourselves in, the strategies (ie. personalities) which are being used to succeed in the game, and where your personality fits into it all.

There you have it - a slightly new definition of personality. So, what do we do now?

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Disclaimer
Evolution has been used as a justification for a good bit of hate and violence over the years, so let me take the first paragraph to state that this is a joyous and hopeful article about evolution which is meant to point out the positive aspects of this wondrous subset of evolution in which humanity currently finds itself. You see, we no longer evolve physically as a species, we evolve culturally. We learn all about evolution as a process for physical change in a species via genetic mutations over a period of time, but there has since been a definition of cultural change over a period of time. This is Cultural Evolution.

What is a Culture?
Culture is a set of beliefs, values, abilities, and rules which help people to live and grow together. Culture is about how we operate socially and is itself an evolutionary adaptation which allows us to work together to accomplish common goals. Laws, language, and all facets of communication, beliefs, agreements, bits of knowledge, etc all together make up a culture. Culture is as much a part of humanity as the opposable thumb and just as much a part of evolution too. All systems have rules and assumptions for the subsets to work together, but the rules and beliefs in certain systems change from within - and this is ultimately what evolution is. My car is a system with rules and assumptions set up so that all the parts work together to get me from A to B. But these rules and assumptions will not change on their own; they need an external force (i.e. mechanic or car specialist) to make the changes to the system to get the car to work better. So culture, because it changes on its own, follows an evolutionary process.

The cool part of this is that a culture is that the scope has been steadily increasing over time. A long time ago your culture was only really of value to you in the scope of your tribe. But the tribe has gotten steadily bigger over time and we now have a fully global tribe. Your culture is no longer only defined by where you live where you were raised, but also by what your individual beliefs and values are. Currently the beliefs and values of the world are evolving - the physical part has stopped. Why did it stop? We reached a tipping point as a society that we were no longer at the mercy of our environment and no longer needed to adapt to fit our environment, we were able to adapt our environment to fit us. Cultural evolution has been around since humans were living together, but about 10000 years ago it became the only form of evolution active among humans.

The Big Deal About Beliefs
Beliefs are what guides you and as such can be seen as adaptations. Birds in the wild believe I’m going to catch and eat them, so they fly away at the slightest provocation. Pigeons in New York belief I may give them food, so they allow me to get closer than if they believed I was only out to catch and eat them. This belief is an adaptation for city pigeons - since the ones who hang out closer to humans have been able to enjoy the bounty of their crumbs. Different beliefs will lead to different experiences in the world, and nature has allowed you to change your beliefs to help you best in your current situation.

How Gene Proliferation is a Common Goal
One of the biggest misconceptions about evolution is that it takes place on an individual level. In fact it takes place on the level of the gene. Interestingly enough, my genes are in a lot of different people. And since my genes want to be passed on, I want to see the holders of my genes prosper in life. This gives altruism an interesting twist. This explains why some people give their lives for others. We are not “living for ourselves” in this world; we are living for our genes. My kids have more of my genes than some random stranger on the street, but he does have some of my genes and it is a natural instinct to want to see him happy.

Culture as the New Evolutionary Currency
At some point in our evolution, beliefs became such important adaptations that they were valued by individuals and groups almost as much as genes. The right beliefs meant your genes would flourish and the wrong beliefs meant they were doomed. The theory then became: support your beliefs and you will be supporting your genes. So, those who shared the same beliefs were better able to work together and cooperate and thereby better pass on their genes. Evolution thereby made it such that cultures were as much a part of the survival struggle as the genes themselves. Joseph Giovannoli refers to cultures in this sense as psychogenes, in his book The Biology of Belief.

The more people who support your beliefs, the stronger your beliefs become and the more effective they will be in supporting your survival. Imagine your beliefs are like a weapon and the more people who share them, the stronger the weapon becomes and the more it will aid you in your survival and quest for gene proliferation. Of course, the belief itself has to be viable. If you believe killing your children will aid your gene proliferation, it won’t matter how many people support this belief - it will not help your gene proliferation. A more relevant example would be a religious belief like believing in Christianity or Judaism. Them more people who believe in Christianity, the stronger the Christians become and the better chance they will have of passing on their genes. The genes of the Christians may be quite different from each other, but by believing the same thing, they help each other pass on their respective genes.

Culture and Countries
We usually think of culture as something pertaining to a country. And despite the fact that you are largely free to share cultural common ground with people from all over the world, you are still led by the leaders of your country. A country may have many cultures within its borders but for the most part, it is operating from a single cultural and political standpoint. This standpoint may be a politically devised set of compromises and strategic declarations which enable it to operate in the world and not a real reflection of the myriad of cultures it really holds. Example: Americans largely disagree with the way its leaders are handling themselves, yet the American leaders are still the ones interacting with the rest of the world politically. So, the cultural standpoint of the United States of America does not seem to accurately reflect the cultures of the American people. But America, like all other countries, has a particular culture - its way of interacting with the rest of the world - which changes and shifts from time to time. These cultures, too are adaptations and can be compared with each other as more effective or less effective than other cultures with respect to how well they are helping their parent country survive and proliferate. A culture of hostility may serve a country well or it may not… It used to work quite well back when imperialism was the flavor of the month, but does it fare well today?

Survival of the Fittest Culture
So, culture operates on many levels - depending on the size of the organizations it is defined for. Survival of the Fittest Culture means that some belief systems are better suited to their environment than others. And on each level, there are cultures which fit well into their environment and cultures which don’t fit so well into their environment. And natural selection will see to it that the cultures which are most suited to their environment will be passed on, and those which are less suited will eventually die off. A more detailed explanation of this process is defined by the term “memes” - the cultural equivalent of genes. A good and relevant example of a meme which is doing quite well for itself is environmentalism. It’s all the rage and you see that cultures (on all levels) which are embracing environmentalism are doing well in today’s sphere of influence. I also remember a bumper sticker which proclaimed “mean people suck”. Indeed they do, and we can analyze all these memes and see where the trends are going. How will mean people as a culture continue to fare in the world? Will they proliferate or will their numbers die off? Do not confuse “mean people” as an actual group of assholes but rather as a cultural attribute. Cultures change within and across people’s lifetimes. You may be mean now but maybe your environment pushes you to adapt a new belief system in your lifetime.

The Best Beliefs and Values as Defined by Cultural Evolution
I’m just interpreting here and, in doing so, I’m suddenly aware of how I’m presenting evolution’s ideas much like priests present Jesus’ ideas - there may be a big discrepancy between what the interpreter is saying and what the source really means. Anyway, in studying nature and the trends humanity has undergone in the past 100000 years, we can make assumptions on how certain memes will fare in the future. This actually leads to a conclusion on what the most desirable attributes are for a culture. A pretty big deal if you’re accurate.

I’m not going to conclude on them here but a speculative example would be fun. Here goes: cooperation is a clear trend in the course of humanity. We have only gotten more interdependent on one another and have been forced to find ways to make ourselves happy and prosperous by making others happy and prosperous. This operates on the level of intimate relationships, like a husband and wife working together to raise a family, all the way up to global entities, like the European Union agreeing on a set of rules to help each country work together for economic and social growth. Want to have an effective experience in the world? Then be a cooperator. See how you can work together with others to achieve a common goal. If you’re not a cooperator, you can learn how to be one - thereby changing your culture. If this conclusion is accurate, then we see that the cooperators will be the survivors in the future, much like the fast cheetahs were the survivors. This should apply to cultures on all levels - for individuals as well as countries.

So, how to be a cooperator? That’s another article. For now, you know that some cultural trends, ie beliefs, values, and rules are adaptations, and as such, some are more effective than others so take a good look at which ones you think are contributing to a better life for yourself and the world. Thinking about which ones naturally feel good and which ones naturally feel bad should point you in the right direction - despite whether you currently share these beliefs, rules, and values. We said that cooperation is a “good” value (I believe), but doesn’t necessarily mean we are all cooperators. But just getting conscious of it should help you down that road. Ultimately, we should be excited about this perpective since we can now analyze the trends and put ourselves in line with them. It may be frightening to find the results - like “what if brute hostility turns out to be an increasingly successful meme?”. We may just have to put faith in the universe that the trends are leading in a positive direction. Don’t worry, we’ll try to prove that in another article too.

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I’m a big Bill Maher fan, so I’ll take a page from him. “New Rule: you can’t say that God created all the good things in the world and all the bad things were created by Man.” Science tells us that Good & Evil are human, conscious constructs and the Universe doesn’t have an opinion. “Why are there bad people in the world”, “Why does God allow all this suffering”, “How could they change the original Chex Mix recipe”. These are all questions that people ask in an attempt to understand “the mind of God”. In doing so, you assume that God has a conscious mind and made things the way they are for a conscious reason. But in answering these questions from a religious point of view and within the bounds of western religious teachings, one is forced to take on the position that God made good things and men made the evil things - which is just silly.

God made everything
And just why are there bad people in the world? I don’t know and I’m not going to address it in the scope of this article, I just want to make the point that God - or nature or whatever you want to call it - made everything. God made murderers, thieves, rapists, bitches and assholes, just as much as he made Tom Hanks and ice cream. And that the labels Good and Bad are something we define based on what we want and what we do not want as a society - not as characteristics inherent to a thing regardless of whether humans are around or not. Murder was not Evil in the time of the dinosaurs. Murder is not evil today when a lion kills a zebra - even if it’s a baby zebra who was just born and is still too weak to stand and whose mommy had a really rough pregnancy and the father left her for a younger, more attractive zebra. It only becomes evil when humans are observing. OK, murder only applies to humans, but you get the point.

The Evolution of Good & Evil
Yes, even morality evolved - that’s how powerful and all-encompassing evolution is. Religious pundits often balk at the idea that morality is just a set of rules we all put together for society to function properly. The argument is mistaken in thinking that these rules were set up consciously. I agree with the priests that a group of people did not sit down one day and brainstorm over a list of rules. Rather, these rules are built into us as much as our desire to eat. A long, long time ago before humans, even before cavemen, you could pretty much do anything you wanted. But at some point creatures started teaming up in the ever increasingly competitive environment. As we know from game theory and systems theory, any cooperation or organization needs rules - it’s inherent in the very definition of these two constructs. So, rules were set up on a subconscious level. And by that, I mean that evolution, through trial and error, subconsciously puts systems in place which allow our genes to be passed on - so morality was just another evolutionary adaptation to help us proliferate. This is why morality has been around long before religion and the most atheistic people can still be morally superior to religious zealots. Think of it this way: a tribe of people with no rules will prosper and proliferate less than a tribe of people with a set of rules which better enable them to work together and take on their surroundings. Rules like “let’s not kill each other” - simple things which can lead to big gains in the gene pool. A cheetah also developed a flexible spine to be able to run faster - the difference here is that cultural evolution is happening across a set of individuals instead of within an individual.

Your conscience and You
The built-in mechanism for morality is indeed your conscience. Freudians call it the super ego and Pinocchio calls it Jiminy Cricket. And now you know where it came fr