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On the originality of subjective selection and the importance of payoff-biased diffusion and migration in shaping the cultural manifold
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2026
Abstract
I suggest that, first, the broad framework of subjective selection proposed by Singh is not as different from existing research in cultural evolution as is made out, and second, that an under-discussed but important cause of cross-cultural regularities (the “cultural manifold”) is payoff-biased diffusion or migration between societies.
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- Open Peer Commentary
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- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press
Target article
Subjective selection, super-attractors, and the origins of the cultural manifold
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Author response
Goals, power, and selection: Foundational issues in the naturalistic study of culture