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Very interesting article and not at all surprising in its findings and conclusions...
Quote:
If brain sizes (EQ) on average have been falling, it is not surprising because docile worker bees (called "consumers" in the U.S.) don't need such large brains to survive. And large brains are, from an energy consumption standpoint, very expensive. Which is why it is a total mystery as to why this trait evolved in our species in the first place. Adequate daily nutrition for all but 1 of the 7 billion people on Earth is not yet a problem, but brain size decreased over many thousands of years. Obtaining adequate nutrition was a struggle for nearly all of that time, especially for those at the bottom of the pyramid.
So what is the meaning of it all? God only knows, but the best evidence available suggests that human societies will go downhill from here on out. For this and lots of other reasons I could mention, we might conclude that maybe the evolutionary experiment (or accident) which gave rise to us wasn't such a hot idea after all.
I've noticed that phenomena in the Republican Party now for 30 years.
Seriously, though, brain size has little or nothing to do with intelligence and the capability of processing data.
For instance, I have two sibling grandkids of the same age (no, they're not twins). One has an abnormally large head and the other a rather small head. I call them "Big Head" and "Little Head." Obviously, head size translates into brain size simply because of space.
Yet, "Big Head," is dumb as a rock. He's great little kid, but he's seriously unable to understand cause and effect and his thinking processes are more than a little pedestrian. But, "Little Head" is sharp as a tack and catches on to concepts and theories astonishingly fast. "Little Head" gets a joke, while "Big Head" has to have it explained to him.
So...IMHO, the author of the linked piece is seriously off-base.
I've noticed that phenomena in the Republican Party now for 30 years.
Seriously, though, brain size has little or nothing to do with intelligence and the capability of processing data.
For instance, I have two sibling grandkids of the same age (no, they're not twins). One has an abnormally large head and the other a rather small head. I call them "Big Head" and "Little Head." Obviously, head size translates into brain size simply because of space.
Yet, "Big Head," is dumb as a rock. He's great little kid, but he's seriously unable to understand cause and effect and his thinking processes are more than a little pedestrian. But, "Little Head" is sharp as a tack and catches on to concepts and theories astonishingly fast. "Little Head" gets a joke, while "Big Head" has to have it explained to him.
So...IMHO, the author of the linked piece is seriously off-base.
That's a pretty big call, considering that neuro-scientists have cannot agree on the topic.
That's a pretty big call, considering that neuro-scientists have cannot agree on the topic.
My ex has a PhD in neuroscience and she often brings up that there is some concern that the human skull, in order to accommodate an enlarging brain, may soon be too big to be birthed.
My ex has a PhD in neuroscience and she often brings up that there is some concern that the human skull, in order to accommodate an enlarging brain, may soon be too big to be birthed.
I definitely agree. It took much more brainpower to be a hunter/gatherer than it does to put a man on the moon. /end sarcasm
Good lord...this makes no sense whatsoever when you apply some actual thought.
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