# Shared Biology Coexists With Diverse Human Cultures by Nicolas Baumard > “Humans all over the world share the same genome, the same neural architecture and the same behavioral niche (three-generational system of resource provisioning, long-term pair-bonding between men and women, high levels of cooperation between kin and non-kin). At the same time, human cultures are highly variable. Some societies see revenge as a duty, others as a sin; some regard sex as a pleasure, others as a danger, and some reward innovations while others prefer traditions.” > **— Nicolas Baumard**, *2017 Edge Annual Question, response passage* ## Sources and Context - **Direct publication and locator:** [Phenotypic Plasticity — Nicolas Baumard](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27196) — 2017 Annual Question response, contiguous sentence(s) within the representative extract. - **Exact original excerpt:** “Humans all over the world share the same genome, the same neural architecture and the same behavioral niche (three-generational system of resource provisioning, long-term pair-bonding between men and women, high levels of cooperation between kin and non-kin). At the same time, human cultures are highly variable. Some societies see revenge as a duty, others as a sin; some regard sex as a pleasure, others as a danger, and some reward innovations while others prefer traditions. In many instances, these cultural differences are robust, and can last for millennia despite cultural contacts, political assimilation or linguistic replacement.” - **Context and editing:** The three contiguous sentences give Baumard’s contrast. His larger essay proposes phenotypic plasticity as a possible explanation of cultural differences. No editorial words were inserted. - **Local Edge archive:** [[research/Edge 2017 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2017 Full Quotation Curation]], response EDGE2017-041. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Greatest Transformation in Human History|The Greatest Transformation in Human History]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Humans all over the world share the same genome, the same neural architecture and the same behavioral niche (three-generational system of resource provisioning, long-term pair-bonding between men and women, high levels of cooperation between kin and non-kin). At the same time, human cultures are highly variable. Some societies see revenge as a duty, others as a sin; some regard sex as a pleasure, others as a danger, and some reward innovations while others prefer traditions.” — Nicolas Baumard, 2017 Edge Annual Question, response passage https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-nicolas-baumard-shared-biology-coexists-diverse-human-cultures ```