They Might Be Science: Islam As An ESS

OK then. I think I have it right this time. Mebbe. :)

A lot of time is spent in the blogverse aguing about the Nature of Islam. Islam is alternately a religion, an addin ('way of life'), a system, a world-view. It is immutable, it is changing all the time, it can never change, it will change. I guess I thought that the addin was the best model, until I got involved with Evolutionary Games Theory (EGT) as a side-effect of one of my interminable and unresolveable arguments about Artificial Intelligence with Zombie.

According to Evolution and the Theory of Games (John Maynard Smith), an Evolutionary Stable Strategy (ESS) is a strategy such that, if all the members of a population adopt it, no mutant strategy can invade. Consider that Islam had 1400 years to evolve a stable strategy set. The selective advantage that gives Islam such an edge, is the "uncreated, revealed Qu'ran", which enforces the uniform adoption of the strategy set.

Although I have not been here all that long, another thing that happens here all the time, is bashing of Charles Johnson and the commentors at LGF for hate-speech, directed at muslims. I suggest that this is not "hate-speech", but Science. For example, consider what Charles Johnson says here-- "Please note: the promotion of hijab and other forms of restrictive dress for women is a very important strategy of radical Islam. This story makes it clear how important. They will kill for it." And kill to preserve many other strategies. Looking back at Charles' editorials, one can easily find elements of the strategy set; fierce punishment for dissent, establishment and maintainance of a slave class (XX beings), obedience to clerical authority, loyalty to one's own kind, promulgation and spread of Islam, the immutabilty of the Qu'ran, etc. From reading LGF archives I bet I could build the whole set!

But what happens when an ESS migrates or immigrates?

LGFer Ibu Guru weighs in with population data "Saudi Arabia's population has quadrupled in less than 30 years...And Muslim countries have the world's highest birthrates. Check the lists in CIA World Factbook." He goes on "Those familiar with the Kondratieff cycle ( a long-term economic cycle averaging about 60 years) will recognize the problem here. Labor gluts depress wages, plus, when there are huge numbers of unemployed, especially youths, violence and ultimately wars result. Islamic fundamentalism appeals to useless excess people who need someone to blame for their "miserable lot in life."

So can Islam-the-ESS become the invading strategy? Or, are there mutant strategies arising? The strategies I've noted seem to be the same stable strategies. Can I argue that based on population growth and the osmotic pressure of Western influence Islam is morphing into an invading ESS? Will the same Stable Strategy Set work for immigration? Sounds like another post to me.

But as for the comments at LGF, I'd hesitate to discount them as "hate-speech"-- They Might Be Science.