Brain expansion: different theories about rapid expansion (Evolution)

by dhw, Tuesday, August 25, 2020, 08:57 (1333 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: The bold is not my opinion.God was directly involved in giving the sapiens brain a highly specific complexification ability. All previous brains undoubtedly had a similar process, although at a simpler level of complexity because those brains were less complex.

dhw: Do you really think your God is and was involved in every single complexification of every individual’s brain, and stepped in to fiddle sapiens’ minor enlargements, reshaping and shrinkage? Of course you don’t.

DAVID: Why do you invent statements I haven't made? All I said was God gave our brain and previous ones the ability to complexify.

The bold which you said was NOT your opinion was: “According to you, the sapiens brain’s convolutions of complexification, minor enlargements, reshaping and shrinkage proceeded independently of your God’s involvement.” If this is NOT your opinion, it can only mean you think God WAS involved in every convolution etc.! And of course it’s nonsense, so why did you reject my bold?

DAVID: All brain expansions were designed by God who speciates all.

dhw: Your last sentence is your usual authoritative statement of your beliefs as if they were a fact.

DAVID: The confused interpretation continues. My beliefs are facts to me.

And there was me thinking you were a scientist.

dhw: [...] I agree that your God may have invented the mechanism that enables the brain to complexify. (I would propose that it is the same mechanism that enables brain enlargement and speciation: the intelligence of cell communities to change their structure in response to new requirements.) But I see no reason why your God should have to step in to enlarge sapiens’ brain or any of our ancestors’ brains once he had invented the mechanism for ALL brain changes (and speciations) throughout history. And you have not provided me with any reason beyond your authoritative statement that he did what you want him to have done.

DAVID: You always skip over the fact that larger brains are found with better artifacts. I interpret that as meaning the arrival of larger brains allowed the invention of the artifacts and better brains must appear before the artifacts are made.

I have never skipped over it. We used artefacts as a concrete example of the process I propose, which is that the smaller brain has the idea, and implementation of the idea causes the brain to expand. (You remember now?) And so of course new artefacts and expanded brains go together. There may well be improvements to these over time, with the same sized brain able to implement the improved concept, but then eventually this brain can’t cope with another new requirement, and so once again it has to expand. And you still haven’t given me a reason why your God should have to step in for each expansion when the mechanism for brain change in response to requirements was already installed.