RE: Perhaps This Explains Theism?
August 18, 2012 at 3:58 pm
(This post was last modified: August 18, 2012 at 4:05 pm by Anomalocaris.)
In order for a theory to convincingly explain why large brains evolved in hominid ancestors, it needs to offer an non-trivial explanation for why similar brain enlargement did not confer enough advantage to evolve in other animals.
Currently most theories aim largely at appearing to arrive at where it wants to go, that human evolved large brains, but give only casual, sometimes flippant, glance at the equally important validation - why large brain did not evolve more frequently elsewhere.
As it happens, I think evidence point to indirect realation between brain size and behavioral complexity. Large brain is costly to maintain. If small brain can do the trick of conferring the needed cognative power and behavior sophistication, large brain is an evolutionary burden, not advantage.
Is small brain enough? Apparently yes. Homo flourensis exhibit evidence of equal sophistication in stone tools as homo erectus. Yet it's brain size would embarrass a chimpanzee. So a brain even aller than those of a chimp can support behavior and cognition of a high order. So why the profligacy of a big brain.
Currently most theories aim largely at appearing to arrive at where it wants to go, that human evolved large brains, but give only casual, sometimes flippant, glance at the equally important validation - why large brain did not evolve more frequently elsewhere.
As it happens, I think evidence point to indirect realation between brain size and behavioral complexity. Large brain is costly to maintain. If small brain can do the trick of conferring the needed cognative power and behavior sophistication, large brain is an evolutionary burden, not advantage.
Is small brain enough? Apparently yes. Homo flourensis exhibit evidence of equal sophistication in stone tools as homo erectus. Yet it's brain size would embarrass a chimpanzee. So a brain even aller than those of a chimp can support behavior and cognition of a high order. So why the profligacy of a big brain.
