This book grew from small beginnings as I began to find unexpected patterns emerging from the data in the literature. The more I thought about the way in which primate social systems worked, the more interesting things turned out to be. I am conscious that, at times, this has introduced a certain amount of complexity into the text. I make no apologies for that: what we are dealing with is a complex subject, the product of evolutionary forces interacting with very sophisticated minds. None the less, I have done my best to ...
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This book grew from small beginnings as I began to find unexpected patterns emerging from the data in the literature. The more I thought about the way in which primate social systems worked, the more interesting things turned out to be. I am conscious that, at times, this has introduced a certain amount of complexity into the text. I make no apologies for that: what we are dealing with is a complex subject, the product of evolutionary forces interacting with very sophisticated minds. None the less, I have done my best to explain every thing as clearly as I can in order to make the book accessible to as wide an audience as possible. I have laid a heavy emphasis in this book on the use of simple graphical and mathematical models. Their sophistication, however, is not great and does not assume more than a knowledge of elementary probability theory. Since their role will inevitably be misunderstood, I take this opportunity to stress that their function is essentially heuristic rather than explanatory: they are designed to focus our attention on the key issues so as to point out the directions for further research. A model is only as good as the questions it prompts us to ask. For those whose natural inclination is to dismiss modelling out of hand, I can only point to the precision that their use can offer us in terms of hypothesis-testing."
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Add this copy of Primate Social Systems to cart. $59.95, very good condition, Sold by C. R. Scott rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lukeville, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Cornell University Press.
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Ithaca NY, Comstock Publishing Associates/Cornell University Press, 1988, hardcover, vii-373 pp, First Edition, First Printing, Very Good in Near Fine dustjacket. Straight, tight and clean with no markings, light spine-end and corner bumps, very faint signs of dampstaining to bottom edge. Dustjacket light spine-end bumps, in new Brodart sleeve. 'A highly individual contribution covering the whole field as viewed from one perspective'. Illustrated throughout with tables and descriptive figures. Appended: Scientific and Common Names, References, Index.
Add this copy of Primate Social Systems to cart. $82.09, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by NCROL.
