Mark Pagel facts for kids

Mark David Pagel (born June 5, 1954, in Seattle, Washington) is a famous evolutionary biologist and professor. He leads the Evolutionary Biology Group at the University of Reading. He is known for studying how different species and cultures are related. In 1994, with his wife, anthropologist Ruth Mace, Pagel helped create a new way to study human cultures, called the Comparative Method in Anthropology. He was also made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2011, which is a big honor for scientists.

Early Life and Education

Mark Pagel studied at the University of Washington. He earned a special degree called a PhD in Mathematics in 1980. His studies focused on a complex math topic called "ridge regression."

Research and Discoveries

In the late 1980s, Pagel worked at the University of Oxford. He developed new ways to understand how different species are related to each other. This work was important for studying how life changes over time.

The Comparative Method

In 1994, Pagel teamed up with anthropologist Ruth Mace. They wrote an important paper called "The Comparative Method in Anthropology." This paper showed how to use "evolutionary trees," also known as phylogenies, to study human cultures. This was a brand new way to explain human behavior and how societies change.

Language and Culture Studies

Pagel is also very interested in how evolution affects languages. He studies how languages develop and change over time, just like living things do.

Books and Lectures

Pagel was the main editor for the Encyclopedia of Evolution, which came out in 2002. He also wrote a book called Wired for Culture: The Natural History of Human Cooperation. This book was chosen as one of the best science books of 2012 by The Guardian newspaper. In 2019, he gave a series of important talks called the Gifford Lectures at the University of Glasgow. These talks were about how human culture and minds developed.

Family Life

Mark Pagel's wife is Ruth Mace. She is also a professor, studying how humans have evolved at University College London. They have two sons together. Their first son was born in the same year that their important paper, "The Comparative Method in Anthropology," was published.

Awards and Honors

In 2011, Mark Pagel was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom. He received this award because he showed how to use evolutionary trees and information about species to understand the past. His new math methods helped solve big problems in how traits evolve. His work has changed how scientists study evolution and human cultures. He has used his ideas to answer important questions about how new species form, how living things adapt, and how human culture and language have changed over time.