Human Evolution

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How can an animal we would class as an ape walk out of the forest and become human? It’s a long story.

It appears that, in The Great Rift Valley in Africa, a unique stretch of grasslands opened up as the continents moved. Certain apes ventured out of the woods, perhaps searching for food. They found a different world, one in which they could survive using the high intelligence inherent in all apes. Problem solving was so important out here, brains began to evolve for higher intelligence.

Likewise, out in the plain, there was an advantage to standing upright. One could travel more efficiently, look out over the tall grass to see predators, and use one’s hands for many tasks. The combination of increased intelligence with increased availability of the hands worked out quite well in this new environment, leading to strong evolution of these traits.

But intelligence and dexterity alone would have left our ancestors helpless in the vast grassland. They found that, like us, they needed each other. It’s true. We all need somebody to lean on. So, our ancestors known as hominids, used their new brainpower for more than just individual problem solving. They used their brains to communicate with others. This turned out to be quite difficult. Understanding other hominids is hard. If you want to communicate effectively with me, you need a big brain.

With effective communication, we learn from each other. You learn things from me. I learn things from you. Together, the combined knowledge can lead to new ideas. The end result can be far greater than simply adding two experiences. And so, there is a huge advantage to good communication. This requires a lot of brainpower.

As hominid cooperation and brainpower became ever more important, brains became larger, and that can be a big problem for the mothers. There is only so much head that can squeeze down the birth canal. Unfortunately, many hominid females must have died in childbirth–may they rest in peace–as evolution drove brain sizes larger.

But, once again evolution found a solution. If the skull can wait to finish its growth until after birth, then it is easier to give birth to a child who will have a large adult brain. For the mothers, this was good news. They could give birth to babies that then grew up with big brains capable of better supporting the mother, her other offspring, and her grandchildren. This solution was a winner.

But there was a big side effect to all this. Hominid babies are quite helpless while their brain grows. They go through a prolonged childhood before emerging as super-intelligent hominid adults. Other animal babies can walk and begin caring for themselves soon after birth. Not so with humans or our close hominid ancestors. Nevertheless, when intelligence is a primary necessity for survival, the sacrifice can be worth it. The mother devotes herself to her helpless baby, yes, but oh what a wonder this produces.

How can a mother afford to spend all this effort raising children? It takes a village. That’s right. Child raising requires a team: mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, cousins, neighbors, anybody. And that is the beauty of the intelligence and social communication that had evolved. It allowed these hominids to develop as a team, caring for each other and for the young. That led to longer childhoods; to larger brains; to more intelligence; to better communication and cooperation; and back around to longer childhoods and still larger brains. It was an endless upwards spiral.

This led to all the wonderful adaptions of hominids: better tools to hunt and get the needed protein to feed these demanding brains; fires to scare away predators; fires to cook meals; loss of hair, which allowed more persistent hunting without overheating; clothing and blankets to stay warm without all that hair; language; structured social interaction; and yes, partying into the wee hours of the morning while sitting around the campfire. Keep that up for hundreds of thousands of years, and before long we see a big change.

None of that requires direct intervention of God. It is simply the working of nature, driving one evolutionary line in a unique direction after a number of prior adaptions had given that genus a unique survival strategy. No miracle was required.

Excerpted from my website: Is There a God? - The Mind Set Free

Edited 8/7/2022. Multiple times this post had said "humans" when it should have said hominids.
 
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HTacianas

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How can an animal we would class as an ape walk out of the forest and become human? It’s a long story.

It appears that, in The Great Rift Valley in Africa, a unique stretch of grasslands opened up as the continents moved. Certain apes ventured out of the woods, perhaps searching for food. They found a different world, one in which they could survive using the high intelligence inherent in all apes. Problem solving was so important out here, brains began to evolve for higher intelligence.

Likewise, out in the plain, there was an advantage to standing upright. One could travel more efficiently, look out over the tall grass to see predators, and use one’s hands for many tasks. The combination of increased intelligence with increased availability of the hands worked out quite well in this new environment, leading to strong evolution of these traits.

But intelligence and dexterity alone would have left our ancestors helpless in the vast grassland. They found that, like us, they needed each other. It’s true. We all need somebody to lean on. So, our ancestors used their new brainpower for more than just individual problem solving. They used their brains to communicate with other humans. This turned out to be quite difficult. Understanding other humans is hard. If you want to communicate effectively with me, you need a big brain.

With effective communication, we learn from each other. You learn things from me. I learn things from you. Together, the combined knowledge can lead to new ideas. The end result can be far greater than simply adding two experiences. And so, there is a huge advantage to good communication. This requires a lot of brainpower.

As human cooperation and brainpower became ever more important, brains became larger, and that can be a big problem for the mothers. There is only so much head that can squeeze down the birth canal. Unfortunately, many hominid females must have died in childbirth–may they rest in peace–as evolution drove brain sizes larger.

But, once again evolution found a solution. If the skull can wait to finish its growth until after birth, then it is easier to give birth to a child who will have a large adult brain. For the mothers, this was good news. They could give birth to babies that then grew up with big brains capable of better supporting the mother, her other offspring, and her grandchildren. This solution was a winner.

But there was a big side effect to all this. Hominid babies are quite helpless while their brain grows. They go through a prolonged childhood before emerging as super-intelligent hominid adults. Other animal babies can walk and begin caring for themselves soon after birth. Not so with humans or our close ancestors. Nevertheless, when intelligence is a primary necessity for survival, the sacrifice can be worth it. The mother devotes herself to her helpless baby, yes, but oh what a wonder this produces.

How can a mother afford to spend all this effort raising children? It takes a village. That’s right. Child raising requires a team: mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, cousins, neighbors, anybody. And that is the beauty of the intelligence and social communication that had evolved. It allowed these humans to develop as a team, caring for each other and for the young. That led to longer childhoods; to larger brains; to more intelligence; to better communication and cooperation; and back around to longer childhoods and still larger brains. It was an endless upwards spiral.

This led to all the wonderful adaptions of humans: better tools to hunt and get the needed protein to feed these demanding brains; fires to scare away predators; fires to cook meals; loss of hair, which allowed more persistent hunting without overheating; clothing and blankets to stay warm without all that hair; language; structured social interaction; and yes, partying into the wee hours of the morning while sitting around the campfire. Keep that up for hundreds of thousands of years, and before long we see a big change.

None of that requires direct intervention of God. It is simply the working of nature, driving one evolutionary line in a unique direction after a number of prior adaptions had given that genus a unique survival strategy. No miracle was required.

Excerpted from my website: Is There a God? - The Mind Set Free

You said:

But, once again evolution found a solution.

Is that to say that evolution is an intelligent being, or an intelligence itself?
 
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Shemjaza

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You said:

But, once again evolution found a solution.

Is that to say that evolution is an intelligent being, or an intelligence itself?
No, it's that a particular variation allowed the population to thrive in that environment.

The tiny differences in each generation build up to a statistical pattern. No intelligence or intent required.
 
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HTacianas

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No, it's that a particular variation allowed the population to thrive in that environment.

The tiny differences in each generation build up to a statistical pattern. No intelligence or intent required.

So how can a thing "find a solution"?
 
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Aussie Pete

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You said:

But, once again evolution found a solution.

Is that to say that evolution is an intelligent being, or an intelligence itself?
Well spotted. Evolutionists fall into this trap often. It's obvious that completely random processes cannot produce life. So I read terms like "evolution decided", and "Evolution took a different direction". It's as if evolution was actually a remarkably powerful and intelligent being, you know, like God. That's because God really did create all things.
 
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HTacianas

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Well spotted. Evolutionists fall into this trap often. It's obvious that completely random processes cannot produce life. So I read terms like "evolution decided", and "Evolution took a different direction". It's as if evolution was actually a remarkably powerful and intelligent being, you know, like God. That's because God really did create all things.

It shows that we are not as far apart on things as most might think. But the natural conclusion of the discussion is a draw. In the end one believes one thing while another believes something else. But if we were to play this out it would ultimately lead to "substance". We say that the Father and the Word are of the same substance, but no one has ever defined what that substance is. But we know that there is a substance involved. So to ask "what is the substance of God" or "what is the substance of evolution" is to ask the same question. They both work the same way.
 
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The IbanezerScrooge

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Well spotted. Evolutionists fall into this trap often. It's obvious that completely random processes cannot produce life. So I read terms like "evolution decided", and "Evolution took a different direction". It's as if evolution was actually a remarkably powerful and intelligent being, you know, like God. That's because God really did create all things.

Anthropomorphic language in explanations of evolution have always been a problem and should be avoided for this very reason. Science deniers pounce on the language as some kind of "gotcha" and ignore the actual evidence. Semantics is the only argument that can be mustered because "god" can't be found in the actual evidence.
 
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Estrid

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Well spotted. Evolutionists fall into this trap often. It's obvious that completely random processes cannot produce life. So I read terms like "evolution decided", and "Evolution took a different direction". It's as if evolution was actually a remarkably powerful and intelligent being, you know, like God. That's because God really did create all things.

Actually, Aus, it's the creationists who
are mixed up on this point.
But whatever the percents are it is a
misstatement or misunderstanding,
unworthy of anything but correction
and dismissal. " So I read it as" included.

The statement that "it is obvious..." is just your opinion.
There is little distinction between an unevidenced opinion and an ordinary falsehood.
As noted elsewhere, a poor basis for any belief.
 
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How can an animal we would class as an ape walk out of the forest and become human? It’s a long story.

It appears that, in The Great Rift Valley in Africa, a unique stretch of grasslands opened up as the continents moved. Certain apes ventured out of the woods, perhaps searching for food. They found a different world, one in which they could survive using the high intelligence inherent in all apes. Problem solving was so important out here, brains began to evolve for higher intelligence.

Likewise, out in the plain, there was an advantage to standing upright. One could travel more efficiently, look out over the tall grass to see predators, and use one’s hands for many tasks. The combination of increased intelligence with increased availability of the hands worked out quite well in this new environment, leading to strong evolution of these traits.

But intelligence and dexterity alone would have left our ancestors helpless in the vast grassland. They found that, like us, they needed each other. It’s true. We all need somebody to lean on. So, our ancestors used their new brainpower for more than just individual problem solving. They used their brains to communicate with other humans. This turned out to be quite difficult. Understanding other humans is hard. If you want to communicate effectively with me, you need a big brain.

With effective communication, we learn from each other. You learn things from me. I learn things from you. Together, the combined knowledge can lead to new ideas. The end result can be far greater than simply adding two experiences. And so, there is a huge advantage to good communication. This requires a lot of brainpower.

As human cooperation and brainpower became ever more important, brains became larger, and that can be a big problem for the mothers. There is only so much head that can squeeze down the birth canal. Unfortunately, many hominid females must have died in childbirth–may they rest in peace–as evolution drove brain sizes larger.

But, once again evolution found a solution. If the skull can wait to finish its growth until after birth, then it is easier to give birth to a child who will have a large adult brain. For the mothers, this was good news. They could give birth to babies that then grew up with big brains capable of better supporting the mother, her other offspring, and her grandchildren. This solution was a winner.

But there was a big side effect to all this. Hominid babies are quite helpless while their brain grows. They go through a prolonged childhood before emerging as super-intelligent hominid adults. Other animal babies can walk and begin caring for themselves soon after birth. Not so with humans or our close ancestors. Nevertheless, when intelligence is a primary necessity for survival, the sacrifice can be worth it. The mother devotes herself to her helpless baby, yes, but oh what a wonder this produces.

How can a mother afford to spend all this effort raising children? It takes a village. That’s right. Child raising requires a team: mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, cousins, neighbors, anybody. And that is the beauty of the intelligence and social communication that had evolved. It allowed these humans to develop as a team, caring for each other and for the young. That led to longer childhoods; to larger brains; to more intelligence; to better communication and cooperation; and back around to longer childhoods and still larger brains. It was an endless upwards spiral.

This led to all the wonderful adaptions of humans: better tools to hunt and get the needed protein to feed these demanding brains; fires to scare away predators; fires to cook meals; loss of hair, which allowed more persistent hunting without overheating; clothing and blankets to stay warm without all that hair; language; structured social interaction; and yes, partying into the wee hours of the morning while sitting around the campfire. Keep that up for hundreds of thousands of years, and before long we see a big change.

None of that requires direct intervention of God. It is simply the working of nature, driving one evolutionary line in a unique direction after a number of prior adaptions had given that genus a unique survival strategy. No miracle was required.

Excerpted from my website: Is There a God? - The Mind Set Free

Evolution claims the origin of life occurred by happen chance.

One either sees intelligent design or happen chance.
 
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HTacianas

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Can't.
Think of it as water flowing from a hose
over the ground, " finding" the easiest way.

I understand your analogy but it isn't that simple. If we take fish for example. Fish living in fast moving water have to be strong enough to both feed themselves and fight against the current. The strongest fish are better able to survive in the current so the strongest fish are the ones most likely to survive. The ones who survive produce stronger offspring and as a type or class outlast the weaker fish. Simple enough. But that is only one example and there are too many variables.
 
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Warden_of_the_Storm

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Evolution claims the origin of life occurred by happen chance.

One either sees intelligent design or happen chance.

The theory of evolution says no such thing. The theory of evolution does not concern itself with how life started, just that there was life.
 
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Estrid

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I understand your analogy but it isn't that simple. If we take fish for example. Fish living in fast moving water have to be strong enough to both feed themselves and fight against the current. The strongest fish are better able to survive in the current so the strongest fish are the ones most likely to survive. The ones who survive produce stronger offspring and as a type or class outlast the weaker fish. Simple enough. But that is only one example and there are too many variables.
no need to tell me
 
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