Big brain evolution: human neurons are different (Evolution)

by David Turell , Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 15:19 (2221 days ago) @ dhw

Under "Birds sleep"
DAVID: This ability in birds and dolphins cannot be developed by chance attempts. I can only conceive of the phenomenon as designed. If this happens in dolphins, I assume it is true for whales, manatees and other sea going mammals. It adds to the complexity of land to sea conversions. Why bother?

Under "Dandelion Seeds"
DAVID:It is not possible that the exact design of the filaments occurred by chance. Only design fits.

Under "Mantis shrimp punch"
DAVID: Since this provided food for the shrimp, how did they survive before the claw was developed? More than likely when the shrimp appeared they were designed this way.

Under "Insect hibernation"
DAVID: This process saves insects over the hard time of winter. It could not have developed stepwise by chance or the insects would not have survived. with the necessary complex metabolic changes involved, Only design explains this.

dhw: On and on and on...It appears that your God designed everything, although according to you, all he really wanted to produce was the brain of Homo sapiens. Apparently he couldn’t have done it without bird sleep, dandelion seed, shrimp punches, and insect hibernation. Or maybe, just maybe, all these organisms figured out their own ways to survive? And so we come to the biggie on this thread:

QUOTE: “Large networks of these neurons communicate with each other to generate thoughts and behavior.”

DAVID: our brains are not just bigger and more complex. They have special neurons with special dendrites. If they act as transistors, that would increase 'computing' power increasing the brain's capacity for thought. If we are not owners of simple enlarged ape brains, how did that happen? By design is the only answer, as existing apes prove our consciousness capacity is not needed for survival.

dhw: In passing, please note the above quote, which specifies that the networks generate thoughts and behaviour. This is the case for materialism, which you profess not to believe in.

Behavior can be viewed in a way different than your inference. Remember behavior is not automatic but the result of free will thinking.

dhw: Bacteria prove that multicellularity, the dog’s nose, the camel's hump, the weaverbird’s nest the monarch butterfly’s migration and the human brain are not necessary for life to survive. You also have your God specially designing bird sleep, dandelion seed, shrimp punching and insects hibernating. So why do you keep using the same old "not needed" and the same "by design" arguments to single out the human brain? They apply to every organ and organism of the multicellular world.

And how did life jump from ever present bacteria to complex forms? Not by chance.