RE: Calculus, Logic, Music and the Human Brain
October 7, 2011 at 9:16 am
(This post was last modified: October 7, 2011 at 9:19 am by The Grand Nudger.)
We've been equipped with the same headgear for a long time. Could our earliest human ancestors have understood calculus? Yes, they could have if they received an education similar to our own. What reason would we have to believe that they couldn't? We have cave art that could be as old as 35k years. It's likely that we've been counting things for much longer, and all tools demonstrate an understanding of the basic concepts of physics (kinetics, leverage, ballistics, and force in particular). That we suffered selection pressure to increase cognitive ability is beyond doubt. Other hominids went other routes with their development, they're mostly dead, we're mostly alive. Now, we have other things working for us, in that not all of our knowledge is inborn. We do teach each other things, spanning generations. The kind of knowledge you're talking about more accurately falls into that group. Another reason that it payed to be smart.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
