ARCS2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Design Of Experiments, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Enculturation
31 Jul 2018
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Document Summary
What is technology: art, skill or craft. Individuals have skills and techniques, but they draw on bodies of technology: technology is part of culture, technology has allowed us to occupy, adapt to and survive in new environments. "man makes himself" -v. gordon childe: niche construction theory. Our future depends on technologies: agricultural and industrial revolutions have dramatically altered our population growth rates. Cultural transmission- loss of complexity: humans are good at ranking each other. Social learning is directed towards copying skilful individuals: but copying isn"t perfect, and the fewer skilful models available reduces accuracy. Focus on pre-iron age technologies, from 3. 3 mya to bronze age. Identify how technology helps humans mitigate environmental challenges, and how complexity develops and is lost. What aspects of form are style and what is functional: variables can be controlled and manipulated in experimental settings. Animal tool use and the origins of technology: often animals exploit their environments: Week 1 lecture: potection from the environment.
