Mathematical Models of Social Evolution – A Guide for the Perplexed - Hardcover

Mcelreath, Richard; Boyd, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226558266 ISBN 13: 9780226558264

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2007

Synopsis

Over the last several decades, mathematical models have become central to the study of social evolution, both in biology and the social sciences. But students in these disciplines often seriously lack the tools to understand them. A primer on behavioral modeling that includes both mathematics and evolutionary theory, "Mathematical Models of Social Evolution" aims to make the student and professional researcher in biology and the social sciences fully conversant in the language of the field. Teaching biological concepts from which models can be developed, Richard McElreath and Robert Boyd introduce readers to many of the typical mathematical tools that are used to analyze evolutionary models and end each chapter with a set of problems that draw upon these techniques. "Mathematical Models of Social Evolution" equips behaviorists and evolutionary biologists with the mathematical knowledge to truly understand the models on which their research depends. Ultimately, McElreath and Boyd's goal is to impart the fundamental concepts that underlie modern biological understandings of the evolution of behavior so that readers will be able to more fully appreciate journal articles and scientific literature and start building models of their own.

About this title

Review:

"Mathematical Models of Social Evolution will no doubt reward psychologists, sociologists, and economists interested in evolutionary theory. Anyone desiring a thorough, yet down-to-Earth, introduction to modeling in social evolution couldn't do much better than to read this book. Using little more than high school mathematics, McElreath and Boyd show how one can take a big step toward understanding many perplexing evolutionary processes."-- (11/09/2007)

About the Author:

Richard McElreath is associate professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis. Robert Boyd is professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles and coauthor of Not by Genes Alone, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0226558266
• ISBN 13: 9780226558264
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432