Brain Expansion (Evolution)

by David Turell , Wednesday, May 06, 2020, 21:09 (1660 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: ... it underscores my point that we have a special brain with this remarkable degree of complexification that can cause that much shrinkage, unlike, any previous brain.

dhw: Yes, it is special, and yes it has a remarkable degree of complexification. That does not mean hard thinking causes the brain to shrink, and it does not mean that if hard thinking CAUSES changes to the modern brain, it could not have CAUSED changes to the earlier brain.

DAVID: This is at a level of anything is possible. Yours is pure invention.

dhw: If it is a known fact that hard thinking causes changes to the modern brain, why is not possible that hard thinking also caused changes to the ancient brain? And why is this on a different “level” to ancient souls being incapable of having new thoughts until God enlarged their brains?

As antecedent brains, the ancient ones may have had some tiny growth areas from complexification as ours does currently. I'll stick with the declaration that an ancient brain/soul could only think to the level that its complexity allowed.

DAVID: I'm not desperate. I see evolution as a production by God. I don't invent the impression everyone has that larger brains/souls produce better artifacts. You idea is a total distortion of what is generally accepted. And later: The articles assume evolution provided the expansion. You convoluted explanation is your imagination at work, with the premise that any proposal is possible. Can you find some one else to convince? It won't be me.

dhw: I didn’t know souls also expanded. That’s a new twist. Of course larger brains produce better artefacts! But nobody knows why brains expanded in the first place! There is no “generally accepted” theory. Yours is that God did it, and only then could the soul think new thoughts. Is this “generally accepted”? Evolution “providing the expansion” does not explain what might have been the cause. But I suppose I had better repeat for the umpteenth time that once each brain had expanded, the bigger brain would have continued to produce better artefacts than the previous brain until the next “big idea” required further expansion.

I can accept that much bolded of your hopeful wishful theory. As for souls expanding, I included the brain/soul complex so you refrain from pouncing.

DAVID: I view it as a total invention based on our very special advanced brain that is nothing like previous additions. Any way you describe it, I think it is a total pipe dream. I'll stick with God running evolution to the point of this brain appearing.

dhw: And still the only fault you can find with my theory is that it is a different pipe dream from yours.

DAVID: My faith in God is not a pipe dream.

dhw: I didn’t say it was. It is your rigid faith in your subjective interpretation of your God’s thoughts, intentions and methods that produce theories which are certainly no less of a pipe dream than my alternative theories about his possible thoughts, intentions and methods.

I wish we could go before a jury of our clear thinking peers to see who would win this debate. Of course I favor me.