functionality

[Jess Tauber]

I remember reading several years ago a piece which introduced me to the
notion that adapting to one's social group(s) ranked nicely with distancing
oneself from others.

>From this perspective, the ultimate result of differentiation is a form of
encryption preventing out-group members from fully exploiting the in-group's
resources. Maturation increasingly marks one permanently as a member of the
out-group, even if one tries to adapt.

Given the obvious natural advantage an unidentifiable infiltrator might have
in inter-group competition, one wonders then if the timing and completeness
of group-differentiating maturation become variables that may be acted upon
by local evolutionary forces. Perhaps this happened already a long time ago?

The ability to fend off unwanted communication may be just as important as
the ability to achieve desired communication.

Jess Tauber
zylogy at aol.com