biology

The Social Conquest of Earth

The Social Conquest of Earth is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Social Conquest of Earth rather than just read about it. In short: The Social Conquest of Earth is a 2012 book by biologist Edward O. Wilson.

Key takeaways

The Social Conquest of Earth belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Social Conquest of Earth to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Social Conquest of Earth from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Social Conquest of Earth is a 2012 book by biologist Edward O. Wilson. Wilson adapted the title of Paul Gauguin's famous mural as a theme – "What are we?", "Where did we come from?", "Where are we going?" — for discussing his topic of eusocial behavior in several arthropod taxa and a few mammalian species, and its role in making humans as a species unique. Wilson argues, building on the paper "The evolution of eusociality" (2010) by Wilson, Martin Nowak and Corina Tarnita in Nature, for the importance of group selection and against the idea of kin selection.

Reception The Nature article was controversial, with many experts arguing against its conclusions, including an "outraged response" later in the same journal by 137 authors. Richard Dawkins wrote a harshly critical review for Prospect, in which he stated that Wilson had earlier supported Bill Hamilton's theory of kin selection but had, over the years, moved away from it, to the point where it was debatable that he had really understood the theory. The book was given a positive review by Yale psychologist and author Paul Bloom in The New York Times. The book was listed as on The New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books of the Year in 2012.

See also Sociobiology: The New Synthesis On Human Nature Darwin's Cathedral

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Social Conquest of Earth

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Social Conquest of Earth claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Social Conquest of Earth before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Social Conquest of Earth ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Social Conquest of Earth

In research: The Social Conquest of Earth appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Social Conquest of Earth in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Social Conquest of Earth is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2012 English-language non-fiction books, 2012 non-fiction books, American non-fiction books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Social Conquest of Earth outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Social Conquest of Earth in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Social Conquest of Earth means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Social Conquest of Earth out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Social Conquest of Earth in simple terms?

The Social Conquest of Earth is a 2012 book by biologist Edward O. Wilson.

Why does The Social Conquest of Earth matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Social Conquest of Earth?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Social Conquest of Earth.