|
Post by brandt on Mar 18, 2012 4:11:22 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by brandt on Mar 18, 2012 4:16:40 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by brandt on Mar 18, 2012 4:23:06 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by Tamrin on Mar 18, 2012 7:30:13 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by Tamrin on Mar 18, 2012 7:50:02 GMT 10
Just from the review, the book seems to be full of woo. The subtitle, How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution, says it all ("civilization" = the culture of cities): In other words how cultural learning accelerated our evolution (memetically not genetically). It then carries on about The Neanderthal Within. The neanderthals went extinct despite being more robust and having larger adult brains, very likely because they were still bound by fixed, innate behaviours and unable to cope with rapidly changing conditions.
|
|
|
Post by brandt on Mar 18, 2012 7:55:57 GMT 10
You may be partly right about our cousins. I suspect that the Neanderthal were not able to adapt as rapidly as we. We know that they had a larger adult brain but we are not entirely certain about how their brains were partitioned. There has been some speculation that they had more of what was needed for memory and less of what was needed for innovation. Fascinating subject but I fear it will ultimatley just be the province of speculation unless we were able to find a full corpse that could be examined.
|
|
|
Post by Tamrin on Mar 18, 2012 8:20:53 GMT 10
Evidence for Menstrual Cycle Shifts in Women’s Preferences for Masculinity: A Response to Harris (in press) “Menstrual Cycle and Facial Preferences Reconsidered”In other words, an attempt at restoring a debunked theory from having been shown to be non-replicable. Who determines what constitutes "masculine men"? If all it takes is a man (any man) could any correlation (doubtful) simply be a primitive reflex? Does menstruation or ovulation constitute a behaviour? Please bear in mind it was once "found" that the menstrual cycles of women in groups became synchronized ( link). That finding is now known to have been methodologically flawed.
|
|
|
Post by Tamrin on Mar 18, 2012 9:29:30 GMT 10
You may be partly right about our cousins. I suspect that the Neanderthal were not able to adapt as rapidly as we. We know that they had a larger adult brain but we are not entirely certain about how their brains were partitioned. There has been some speculation that they had more of what was needed for memory and less of what was needed for innovation. Fascinating subject but I fear it will ultimatley just be the province of speculation unless we were able to find a full corpse that could be examined. Yes, just speculation. Which is why I did not assert it as a fact, just "very likely." Given the finding of complete, contemporary mammoth carcases, some still with buttercups in their mouths, it is not impossible that we might find a complete neanderthal (like Ötzi the Iceman). However, even if it were found that neanderthals had the capacity to do without instincts, we should avoid attributing purpose to evolution and confusing ability with expression. E.g., we did not evolve larger birth canals to accommodate larger heads, but that change did enable that subsequent development. Only a living neanderthal (cloned?) could show whether or not they were still bound by instincts
|
|
|
Post by Smithee on Mar 18, 2012 16:36:20 GMT 10
Does menstruation or ovulation constitute a behaviour? No more than insulin production. Looks like a case of clutching at straws.
|
|
|
Post by brandt on Mar 19, 2012 4:36:28 GMT 10
It would be an exciting find to uncover a complete neanderthal.
There are some that say a larger birth canal would have/could have interfered with our switch to bipedalism. Evolution does not work as a concerted effort, it is more like different bureaucracies with sometimes competing agendas.
Menstration and ovulation are not behaviors, could you agree that there are behaviors related to those biological functions?
|
|