Brain Expansion (Evolution)

by David Turell , Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 15:49 (1653 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: So yet again: if he could get our brains to complexify by themselves, why is it unthinkable to you that he could also have got their brains to expand by themselves? […]

You have ignored my comments in my recent series of introducing the brain':

Introducing the brain: fast evolution explanation (Introduction)
by David Turell @, Tuesday, May 12, 2020, 00:56

"my point is more important to consider, that the brain enlargement has to coordinate with bigger skull (bone) size and a necessary enlargement change in the female birth canal (pelvic bone) to accommodate the bigger baby skull (bone). "

Giving the brain the ability to expand itself does not explain how it all must happen. Please explain for us how your theory does all of this.

dhw: All this is of course massively simplified, but I am trying to illustrate how the process proceeds. The immaterial concept precedes the material changes, as opposed to brains and bodies changing in advance of new requirements. You ignored my paragraph about cell communities, which are the key to evolution and speciation. They cooperate and in my theory they change to meet or exploit new requirements or conditions. In your theory, your God preprogrammed them 3.8 billion years ago to cooperate in making all the changes, or he dabbled with them BEFORE the new requirements arose.

Of course I ignored your cell committees as totally off the mark.

dhw: Once again I asked the following question:

dhw: Now tell us whether you believe your God designed the mechanism which enables the brain to complexify without his direction. If he did, why should the same mechanism not have enabled the brain to expand?

Total confusion of facts: complexification results in overall shrinkage! And how about the bony problems?

QUOTE FROM “Evolution and humans”: The argument I shall explore as to why more evidence can be extracted from the archaeological record starts by assuming that users, artifacts, practices and tasks have coevolved. Artifacts typically arise to address a need connected with a task.

dhw: All agreed.

DAVID: The prevailing view is artifacts represent the cultural time/generation with which they are found.

dhw: Also agreed.

DAVID: No one ascribes artifacts to thoughts in a previous species.

dhw: Of course they don’t. The first artefacts only exist when the new bigger brain exists. Flippers only exist after adaptation to life in the water.

DAVID: It is either evolution produced larger brained hominins/homos or as ID and I believe, God did it.

dhw: Nobody knows how or why the brain expanded! Your comment tells us nothing and nor does the article! You believe your God preprogrammed stages of brain expansion 3.8 billion years ago or did a series of hands-on dabbles. With my theist’s hat on, I propose that he may have invented a mechanism which, as well as enabling the modern brain to complexify in response to new requirements, may also have enabled past brains to expand in response to new requirements. You keep quoting articles that make no attempt to solve the mystery of expansion, as if somehow they support your theory and disprove mine!

My quotes simply show most folks thinking about brain size and artifacts simply assume the bigger brains did it. We both also agree. Your theory is your theory no one else's. And you have never answered the 'bony problem' which involved separate organs than brain.