Suggestions for a mathematical biology of some cultural developments

In connection with the author's previous studies on the effects of imitation in social behavior it is shown how, owing to such effects, two societies which are both characterized by the same distribution functions for different abilities and tastes may differ very greatly in their respective outputs of scientific and inventive work. The course of development which occurs in a given society may be determined by purely accidental initial conditions. A theory of quantitative relations between some cultural and socioeconomic quantities is suggested.