3 ms·
Do we really currently use our brains as efficiently as possible? The decrease in size could be the outcome of one of the bottlenecks, like the one 200k years
by aritmo 6y ago
Do we really currently use our brains as efficiently as possible?
The decrease in size could be the outcome of one of the bottlenecks, like the one 200k years ago.
- ArkanExplorer 6y agoThe problem could be with distribution. In a hunter-gatherer society, all members require this intelligence described in the article. In a hierarchical early agricultural society, only the ruling classes and to an extent middle classes do. Thus you end up with a distribution of intelligence (and brain size) aligned along caste, with a wide range. Who you sample influences your measurements.
- vkou 6y agoWhy do you assume that being a subsistence farmer requires less intelligence than being a landlord? Peasants were poor, not stupid. [1] Their landlords may have written about them as if they were, but they were hardly unbiased observers. [1] https://acoup.blog/2020/07/24/collections-bread-how-did-they-make-it-part-i-farmers/ https://acoup.blog/2020/07/24/collections-bread-how-did-they...