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A leading human origins researcher has come up with a new idea that involves aggression between groups and the boom-bust cycles that have punctuated our spread into new environments.
Prof Ian Tatersall said there were few examples to rival the accelerated evolution that led to our species.
He was speaking at this year's Calpe conference in Gibraltar.
"However you slice it, evolution within this [human family] has been very rapid indeed," Prof Tatersall, from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, told the conference
A leading human origins researcher has come up with a new idea that involves aggression between groups and the boom-bust cycles that have punctuated our spread into new environments.
Prof Ian Tatersall said there were few examples to rival the accelerated evolution that led to our species.
He was speaking at this year's Calpe conference in Gibraltar.
"However you slice it, evolution within this [human family] has been very rapid indeed," Prof Tatersall, from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, told the conference
In static situations, the specializers can dominate and thus stymie efforts of the more adaptable (smarter) to expand. When you upset the status quo then the specializers tend to be screwed and that opens up opportunity for the more adaptable.
In static situations, the specializers can dominate and thus stymie efforts of the more adaptable (smarter) to expand. When you upset the status quo then the specializers tend to be screwed and that opens up opportunity for the more adaptable.
Interesting stuff! I guess the same thing could be occurring in the here and now, especially when it comes to corporations/companies, countries, and culture.
Interesting stuff! I guess the same thing could be occurring in the here and now, especially when it comes to corporations/companies, countries, and culture.
Absolutely.
Consider WW2's impact on US society. Women, blacks etc. into roles that they would otherwise would have been restricted from. It gave a huge jump-start to enormous social and cultural change and that's just one example.
FYI- Funny story, but many colleges had traditions directed at freshmen (yale etc.) where they had to wear beanies or sit in certain places etc. A lot of those traditions died out around 1946 when the incoming freshman class was composed of guys that had put off school to go kill germans and japanese.
These 20-21yo, in many cases combat hardened veterans, um....refused.....and the upperclassmen liked keeping their teeth so traditions died.
Our current World Population Clock is over seven billion: U.S. & World Population Clocks When I was born in 1947 the world population was about one third of what it is today. Many of our natural resources are already strained. With few exceptions; we have not tried to control population growth. It is inevitable that conflict will break out as resources dry up.
While we talk about how all of this has increased our brain size; we are still doomed if we do not colonize other worlds and find new resources. If we do not; we have to control our population – through war, famine or disease.
When somebody touches the sterile medium in a Petri dish; they introduce contamination. The bacteria will spread until they run out of food and then die. We have not proven that we are any smarter than that bacteria in the Petri dish. Hopefully some of our massive brain power will find solutions to our problems and prove me wrong.
I had seen an article (can't find it, now) about some people who were insisting that cans be saved, or else research may have to be curtailed. Hopefully, we'll have other resources or ideas about stretching our resources. I had recently seen an article about making silk. But is there too much inertia to stop this insanity, with people clinging to plastic?
I had seen an article (can't find it, now) about some people who were insisting that cans be saved, or else research may have to be curtailed. Hopefully, we'll have other resources or ideas about stretching our resources. I had recently seen an article about making silk. But is there too much inertia to stop this insanity, with people clinging to plastic?
Water is another commodity that could lead us to war. Our Southwest has stained this resource for many years. One, long, hot drought could could be the straw that broke the camels back. Would you want to go without water while your neighbors swim in their pools?
I just have this feeling that brain power will not save us.
In my area, farmers have already had a hard time getting a crop due to lack of rain and they can irrigate only so much. T. Boone Pickens has already sold us the water he bought earlier. That should tide us over for awhile, but you have to wonder how long it will last if the weather doesn't change.
I recall a city in Texas -- Wichita, Texas -- that had a very interesting set up at the city dump. It sorted cans, glass, plastic bags, and so forth. If that could be duplicated everywhere, we would be better off.
A leading human origins researcher has come up with a new idea that involves aggression between groups and the boom-bust cycles that have punctuated our spread into new environments.
Prof Ian Tatersall said there were few examples to rival the accelerated evolution that led to our species.
He was speaking at this year's Calpe conference in Gibraltar.
"However you slice it, evolution within this [human family] has been very rapid indeed," Prof Tatersall, from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, told the conference
It's a double conundrum in that not only has the human brain size been slowly shrinking since it's peak of 1500 cc (20,000 BCE) to currently at 1350 cc but also in that as it has shrunk in size our level of intelligence has skyrocketed simultaneously.
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