Big brain evolution: changes in sapiens skull shape;addendum (Evolution)

by dhw, Monday, March 05, 2018, 12:57 (2453 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: I am following up on your claim (Feb. 19) that “judgment about the consequences of any new action by an individual is impaired or limited until the development of the prefrontal cortex is complete”, which you say happens at 25. This can only mean that either the cortex and not the s/s/c is responsible for making judgements or, according to your latest theory, the s/s/c can’t get the cortex to obey its instructions. Which is it?
DAVID: Each person develops his own ability at judgments using his pre-frontal cortex. Again you are implying the s/s/c is separate from the brain. Both are interlocked with each other and must work together. You are confused about this, and therefore misrepresent what I am presenting.

Yes, they must work together, but according to your dualistic beliefs they have different functions. You have described the distinction yourself under “Panpsychism”:
DAVID: My manifestations of mind, as I write this, is not my mind. I can express my mind's thoughts through physical activity of my fingers, but the thoughts are still immaterial. But only works if my mind is intimately interfaced with an active brain capable of inducing the activity of eyes and fingers at the keyboard to give expression to those current thoughts.

You see, you’ve understood perfectly that the s/s/c does the thinking, but manifestation can only occur when the brain gives material implementation to the immaterial thoughts. So why do you keep insisting that your mind cannot THINK its thoughts without the functioning brain?

Next we move to the complete contrast between the dementia victim's dualism (the s/s/c is normal but can't express itself) and Einstein's materialism (his brain is the source of his genius):

DAVID: Severely demented may be total vegetables. So?

I pointed out that disease can change the nature of the self, which is evidence for materialism. You argued that “a sick brain gives a sick improper impression…The underlying s/s/c is really the same and normal”. So when the vegetable thinks he/she is now a child, or the doctor wants to kill him/her, or he/she wants to kill the doctor, are you saying the s/s/c is perfectly normal but can’t communicate its normal thoughts because the receiver isn’t working properly?If not, what ARE you saying?

DAVID: What a contorted answer! His [Einstein’s] genius resulted from the enlarged area from birth, because we know complexification causes shrinkage! Please lets use factual material. Perhaps you know Einstein is the only known sapiens who had brain area expansion abilities, and the rest of us don't.
dhw: The contortions are entirely yours. If his genius resulted from the enlarged area, you have provided rock solid evidence for materialism (which of course may be correct, but you the dualist are supposed to reject that theory). How do you know his “conceptual area” was thicker from birth?
DAVID: I admit I should have said developed from birth. The enlarged area allowed his s/s/c to have a greater ability at conceptualization, dualism

In dualism, as you have agreed a thousand times, conceptualization is the province of the s/s/c, not the brain. The brain does not “allow” the s/s/c to conceptualize. The brain provides information and implements the concepts.

DAVID: No. Intelligence springs from the s/s/c being able to use an advanced brain in size and complexity.
dhw: Strange, I thought you’d agreed (a few dozen times) that the s/s/c is the thinking, experiencing, remembering, decision-making you, both in life and in death. Now apparently, in the afterlife you believe in, you will leave your intelligence behind because you haven’t got a brain to use.
DAVID: And the only way there can be advanced thinking, as Einstein shows, is through brain complexity.

So did Einstein show us that the complexities of his brain were the source of his great thoughts, thereby embracing materialism, or did he show us that his great thoughts resulted in increased brain complexity, thereby embracing dualism?

DAVID: The s/s/c and brain are fully interfaced in life and depend upon each other. And the s/s/c in afterlife is in a different circumstance. It carries all of its knowledge. We have no idea if it can develop new thoughts or not. All we know from NDE testimony is thoughts/information are transmitted telepathically.

Since this hasn't penetrated, let me repeat: You said that intelligence sprang from the s/s/c being able to use its brain. This can only mean that without a brain, the s/s/c cannot be intelligent. On Friday 2 March I wrote: “If NDEs are to be believed, the s/s/c plays the same role in life and in death: it is the thinking, experiencing, remembering, decision-making YOU. Yes or no?” And on the very same day you answered yes. On Sunday 4 March your afterlife s/s/c will apparently have lost its intelligence.