Fantastic story Steve. Good on you. And an inspiring story as well. Being a scientist in the field of evolutionary psychology the freedom to write what you want is nowadays invaluable. I look forward to your road ahead. There are so many lessons to be learned also for my field pedagogical sciences/rearing children where the Blank Slate is sadly still alive and well. The main reason I started my own Substack-newsletter: to enlighten the Dutch. Thanks for all the inspiration (The Ape That Understood the Universe is a personal favourite), walk on, and good luck with the Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter.
One of the giants of primatology the Dutch-American ethologist Frans de Waal - who sadly passed away last year - made a bold prediction in 2002:
"I dare predict that 50 years from now every psychology department will have Darwin's bearded portrait on the wall. Evolutionary approaches have the potential to produce a conceptual framework that will accommodate or replace the proliferation of disconnected theories in the study of human behavior"
de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Evolutionary Psychology: The Wheat and the Chaff. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(6), 187-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00197
We are not there yet, but I can see the Grand Old Man already smiling.
Well I for one am glad that you did this as I have learned much and am also a little more familiar with data based arguments and presentation methods. All the best for 2026! John
Fantastic story Steve. Good on you. And an inspiring story as well. Being a scientist in the field of evolutionary psychology the freedom to write what you want is nowadays invaluable. I look forward to your road ahead. There are so many lessons to be learned also for my field pedagogical sciences/rearing children where the Blank Slate is sadly still alive and well. The main reason I started my own Substack-newsletter: to enlighten the Dutch. Thanks for all the inspiration (The Ape That Understood the Universe is a personal favourite), walk on, and good luck with the Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter.
One of the giants of primatology the Dutch-American ethologist Frans de Waal - who sadly passed away last year - made a bold prediction in 2002:
"I dare predict that 50 years from now every psychology department will have Darwin's bearded portrait on the wall. Evolutionary approaches have the potential to produce a conceptual framework that will accommodate or replace the proliferation of disconnected theories in the study of human behavior"
de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Evolutionary Psychology: The Wheat and the Chaff. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(6), 187-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00197
We are not there yet, but I can see the Grand Old Man already smiling.
Thanks, Hans! I really appreciate the comment. That's a great quote from de Waal. I think he's write, and I hope it happens sooner rather than later.
All the best!
Glad there are people like you Hans fighting the good fight against mindless blank slatism!!
Achieving "cancelproofness" Is something your readers should celebrate as much as you do. Congratulations to us all.
Thanks, Carl!
Well I for one am glad that you did this as I have learned much and am also a little more familiar with data based arguments and presentation methods. All the best for 2026! John
Thanks, John - all the best to you, too!
Thank you for your honesty about your motivations on using Substack and progress. Subscription renewal assured!
Nice - thanks Edward!