Evolution of the human mind

The Science channel is airing a show on the evolution of the human mind. It is quite interesting you should check it out!

This does raise one question [hopefully they will talk about this] why did WE evolve so much farther ahead [as far as the brain] than other animals? Why are we so much smarter than the smartest animal [other than ourselves]?


http://science.discovery.com/schedul...46&channel=SCI

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Some creature had to be the smartest. And once you have a small 'smartness gap' it is likely to grow larger (imo) simply because smartness builds culture and culture builds smartness, in that knowledge can be more easily passed on.

We also need to realise that we are the smartest animal at the moment, in a tiny window of life's entire history. Being the top dog for a few hundred thousand years is not all that significant, really.

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It is quite possibly due to a positive feedback loop, the mental equivalent of a peacock's tail.

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I was very interested in this show I wish I had a Tivo

They talked about the two ways a species could evolve in order to survive; one may choose to "generalize" and one may "specialize". What "chooses" the path the species will take?

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natural selection and whatever the mutations are. I didn't see the program either, I am just combining what I know about several diffrent areas from peacocks to memetics.

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What was that culture that built the intelligence in the beginnning? How did our brains evolve before there was a "reason" to do so? What is your theory on that? How did our brains have the functioning power for advancement prior to that advancement?

It probably started when the drier climate in eastern africa caused the great forest in that area to be replaced with grasslands. With our weaker constitution where our ancestors probably highly reliant on team tactics inorder to survive and this combined with our hands (which where abit foot like) ment that we had great use of being intelligent.

Nothing chooses; that's irritating shorthand used by science journalists and sometimes by scientists. It either happens one way or it happens another.

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this question is completely nonsensical
they didn't. also the insertion of reason implies incorrect thinking on your part.
my theory is that your understanding of the theory is flawed
what? another nonsensical question built on nonsensical questions.

how much do you know about evolution then?

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MSci MSc ARCS DIC PhD..... yes, I am bragging.

I don't know, it made sense to me.


Oh, you mean because you feel that there was no "reason" but the way brain evolved was due to the by-product theory?

Possibly. That is how it works isn't? I have an understanding of evolution and then if I don't quite understand it completely when new info comes in I am able to see the flaws and reform my understanding.

Hum, maybe I just didn't state my question in a way that you understood it.



Well let me tell you a little about what I do know and then you can tell me where I am wrong, what I misunderstand or where my thinking is flawed. How about that?

Okay, there are two theories that I am aware of that address the brain and evolution. One is that the brain is compiled into compartments that evolved for specific purposes. The second that I am aware of is that the brain evolved for its own set of reasons, and that certain human traits then followed that had nothing whatsoever to do with natural selection. Those sets of purposes then adapted and created new purposes and function.

This is due to the fact that most people understand that it is unreasonable to think that the brain became what it is today by means only of natural selection.

There are too many things that the brain can do that can not be attributed to natural selection.

I am also aware of a theory that stated that the brain was "triune" where the brain is in three stages so to speak, the reptilian stage and then the paleocortex and then the neocortex. I believe that even evolutionists have discarded this theory.

So, what have I said that is flawed? What don't I understand that I should?