Theory of Evolution of Human Intelligence
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
This entry contains some very raw thoughts, which partially I read somewhere and are partially of my own. Discussion is welcome. :-)
Human Intelligence (HI) needs a vast processing capacity, which has a high price as the size of the brain gives mothers a hard time at birth, besides of high power consumption. HI is of advantage only when a certain (threshold-) level of communication and thinking ability is reached, leaving us with the question of how it could evolve to the current size.
The Theory states that the brain evolved to a bigger size for a different reason, allowing for a smooth growth, giving the owner benefits for even small changes. The brain grew by its use for hurling stones or spears while hunting, which is a very brainpower consuming activity. Aiming and throwing are delicate, as everything has to happen very fast, yet the individual brain cells work very slow, at least compared to a computer. So there have to be vast numbers of cells which work in parallel to yield enough processing power to hit the target. The more cells, the better the hunting efforts are.
Only later these cells, when their number exceeded the threshhold, where used for intelligence.
Human Intelligence (HI) needs a vast processing capacity, which has a high price as the size of the brain gives mothers a hard time at birth, besides of high power consumption. HI is of advantage only when a certain (threshold-) level of communication and thinking ability is reached, leaving us with the question of how it could evolve to the current size.
The Theory states that the brain evolved to a bigger size for a different reason, allowing for a smooth growth, giving the owner benefits for even small changes. The brain grew by its use for hurling stones or spears while hunting, which is a very brainpower consuming activity. Aiming and throwing are delicate, as everything has to happen very fast, yet the individual brain cells work very slow, at least compared to a computer. So there have to be vast numbers of cells which work in parallel to yield enough processing power to hit the target. The more cells, the better the hunting efforts are.
Only later these cells, when their number exceeded the threshhold, where used for intelligence.
