RE: virus: Strange attractors and meta-religions (was God and

Wright, James 7929 (Jwright@phelpsd.com)
Wed, 09 Apr 97 21:00:00 EDT

Martz wrote:
>I mostly agree with you but I'd like to broaden things a little. I used
>an example of a comparatively simple creature, to wit a bird. People are
>a bit more complex than that and are, as you rightly point out, subject
>to a wider range of learned behaviour. Where we seem to differ is your
>contention that 'care for your young' is a learned bahaviour. I would
>contend that it is hard-coded in (allowing my previous disclaimer re:
>circumstance) but that we learn *how* to care for them, I guess by
>example. Those examples may not always be good ones, leading to the
>behaviour I think you're talking about but whether or not that
>constitutes negligence is a matter of semantics.<

You and Mark seem convinced that "care for your young" is hard-coded; I
guess we'll have to wait for the conclusion of the Genome Project to seek
certainty. Learning "how" to care for the young is definitely a learned
behavior, and I guess I'll have to give up the discussion at that point.
Thanks!
james