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Tim Waring

@twaring

I study the evolution of human culture with a focus on environmental behaviors and institutions and an eye toward helping these become more sustainable on a single, limited planet. https://timwaring.info/

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Latest posts by Tim Waring @twaring

Transmissions Episode 3 with Dr Tim Waring
Transmissions Episode 3 with Dr Tim Waring YouTube video by Cultural Evolution Society

I was interviewed by Feryl Badiani for the Cultural Evolution Society's Transmissions podcast. It was a fun conversation, but I biffed the introduction, so you can skip that part.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O3U...

22.02.2026 21:27 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Transmissions Podcast interview I was interviewed by Feryl Badiani for the Cultural Evolution Society's Transmissions podcast. It was a fun conversation, but I biffed the introduction, so you can skip that part.

Transmissions Podcast interview

I was interviewed by Feryl Badiani for the Cultural Evolution Society's Transmissions podcast. It was a fun conversation, but I biffed the introduction, so you can skip that part.

22.02.2026 21:25 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Apply at this link: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

13.02.2026 12:50 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I’ve got an idea! Let’s prevent intelligent young people from building lives of curiosity. That will surely help our ability to innovate as a nation.

08.02.2026 21:25 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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We also looked at the relationship between behaviors and identified 3 distinct strategies, with maximization being the most popular strategy early on. Interestingly, this bottom-up approach also seemed to capture the underlying subsistence structure, which we recover quite nicely here. (4/5)

07.02.2026 15:09 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I took a quiz on the solar system in second grade. What does the moon orbit? The earth. What does the earth orbit? The sun. Does the sun orbit anything. Yes, I wrote knowing it orbits the galactic center. I got the question wrong. That was some injustice right there.

07.02.2026 02:52 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

New paper with @jordantkemp.bsky.social and Luis Bettencourt is now on arXiv: β€œSpatial Selection and the Multiscale Dynamics of Urban Change”. We use the Price equation and Chicago data to show how fine-scale spatial sorting shapes macro growth trends. Read it here: arxiv.org/pdf/2511.06165

13.11.2025 08:23 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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IC2S2 2026 registration is open!
Explore the 2026 conference here ➑️ ic2s2-2026.org

βœ”οΈ Submissions open December 15th
βœ”οΈ Keynotes will be announced between now and February
βœ”οΈ Full program of selected talks and tutorials will be available in late April

01.12.2025 21:40 πŸ‘ 26 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 3
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The Importance of Biological Theory - Biological Theory Biological Theory -

I am happy to share this article, entitled "The importance of Biological Theory". It is my inaugural editorial as the new Editor-in-Chief of @biologicaltheory.bsky.social . In these complex and challenging times, theory is more important now than ever. Enjoy!

doi.org/10.1007/s137...

30.01.2026 13:40 πŸ‘ 87 πŸ” 42 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

This results in what is commonly called Vavilovian mimicry, after Vavilov, the botanist who first proposed it. You'll also sometimes see these plants referred to as secondary crops.

Some of these mimics eventually became intentionally cultivated crops in their own right.

27.01.2026 17:50 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Looking for #culturalevolution methods advice. We will run a survey to estimate the degree and nature of #sociallearning in a local population (a US country).

Are there any standard survey instruments or social psychology scales for this?

I can find only partly relevant stuff. Please help!

25.01.2026 21:59 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

@brunelcce.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social @hcelab.bsky.social @durhamdcerc.bsky.social @ecdi.bsky.social @rmcelreath.bsky.social @babeheim.bsky.social @culturologies.co @masonyoungblood.bsky.social @helenamiton.bsky.social @aiyanakoka.bsky.social @michael.muthukrishna.com @alexmesoudi.com

26.01.2026 21:21 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Looking for #culturalevolution methods advice. We will run a survey to estimate the degree and nature of #sociallearning in a local population (a US country).

Are there any standard survey instruments or social psychology scales for this?

I can find only partly relevant stuff. Please help!

25.01.2026 21:59 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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German soccer federation official wants World Cup boycott considered because of Trump A German soccer federation executive committee member says it’s time to consider a World Cup boycott because of the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.

A German soccer federation executive committee member says it's time to consider a World Cup boycott because of the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.

23.01.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 18942 πŸ” 4948 πŸ’¬ 1162 πŸ“Œ 1528
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Maybe Greenland could invade us instead?

20.01.2026 11:16 πŸ‘ 9865 πŸ” 3489 πŸ’¬ 494 πŸ“Œ 344
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Great idea.

All businesses should post this.

18.01.2026 22:54 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.

18.01.2026 18:59 πŸ‘ 14531 πŸ” 4641 πŸ’¬ 482 πŸ“Œ 541
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The individual isn't what it used to be Tim Waring thinks human evolution is shifting from genetic and individual to cultural and collective

This post reminds me of the Q&A I did recently with @twaring.bsky.social about an evolutionary transition in humans, though I don't recall discussing artifacts in our chat.

Would language count as an artifact? I'm thinking about oral histories etc. that passed down knowledge long before texts.

15.01.2026 10:33 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Decision-making in Structured Groups: from animal societies to human governance This collection hopes stimulate new dialogues and translational efforts, to fully capture the rich diversity of ways collectives solve complex problems in ...

Our collection on Decision-making in structured groups in npj Complexity is open and accepting manuscripts through May!

It's a broad call, covering anything from animal societies to human social systems of all sorts.

Learn more:
www.nature.com/collections/...

15.01.2026 18:34 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Transmissions Episode 2 with Dr Sarah Matthew
Transmissions Episode 2 with Dr Sarah Matthew YouTube video by Cultural Evolution Society

Excited for the new Transmissions episode on ASU's Sarah Mathew on how human warfare evolved, and her fieldwork in Kenya.

Watch here:
youtu.be/eUqEcxf5uBQ?...

New Episodes monthly! Created by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social and @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social

CC: @arizonastateuni.bsky.social

13.01.2026 15:39 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Paper Roundup December 2025: computing billiards, an impossible atmosphere, and Roman constructions Papers on big questions at the frontiers of science, curated by hand each month

This month's paper roundup is live!

This time around we've got 2D billiards that can compute, an atmosphere that shouldn't exist, a Roman construction site, and more.

Check it out here: www.reviewertoo.com/paper-roundu... πŸ§ͺ

08.01.2026 18:16 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Rep. Suozzi Confronts Deplorable Jan 6 Rioters, Minneapolis Mayor Tells ICE To β€˜Get The F**k Out,’ and Rep. Kelly Leads Charge To Impeach Kristi Noem Fighting back on every front

Rep. Suozzi Confronts Deplorable Jan 6 Rioters, Minneapolis Mayor Tells ICE To β€œGet The F**k Out,” and Rep. Kelly Leads Charge To Impeach Kristi Noem

08.01.2026 15:48 πŸ‘ 11874 πŸ” 2789 πŸ’¬ 292 πŸ“Œ 110

Some 15 years ago my colleague Parry Clarke said to me, "Dude stop complaining and write your own stats book!" So I did. It definitely changed my life, and I'm glad it has had a positive impact on others.

08.01.2026 13:30 πŸ‘ 91 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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4.5 Degrees

Just in case you need a visual: xkcd.com/1379/

03.01.2026 03:41 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Wikipedia is truly one of the greatest things on the Internet. It is absolutely incredible, and must be preserved at all costs.

01.01.2026 22:19 πŸ‘ 114 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3

It’s like using the papyrus font for the Avatar logo.

27.12.2025 06:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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24.12.2025 20:09 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Remember the 1920s when nobody was left-handed

24.12.2025 17:13 πŸ‘ 6068 πŸ” 820 πŸ’¬ 283 πŸ“Œ 150

I am ecstatic about the implications that large models have on the viability of generative grammar and the linguistic turn, and yet I am able to maintain a critical perspective on the tech industry. It's not that hard.

22.12.2025 06:23 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0