Human evolution: presents another huge gap (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, November 11, 2021, 05:11 (1106 days ago) @ David Turell

Erectus is a giant step from previous forms:

https://evolutionnews.org/2021/11/missed-opportunity-passing-over-scientific-problems-w...

"At most, the data he cites simply shows that humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans share certain similar genes and genetic traits which are involved in our brain development and linguistic abilities — genes and genetic traits not found in living apes. This is not at all surprising since Neanderthals and Denisovans were highly similar to us, are thought to have had advanced cognitive abilities, and may even belong within our own species Homo sapiens. The evidence he recounts is not evidence of evolution. Rather, it simply identifies human-specific genetic features that probably help endow us with our advanced cognitive abilities. Merely identifying important genetic traits does not necessarily tell us that they arose by blind evolutionary mechanisms.

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"First, miracle mutation accounts of the origin of human cognition imply a teleology and design to evolution that contradict an unguided evolutionary story. If our cognitive abilities suddenly evolved by just one or two single mutational events, that implies that our profound human intelligence was sitting on a precipice, just waiting for certain specific mutations to occur before modern human minds could arise. But how did our minds get to that evolutionary precipice, where just one or two mutations could produce everything from Lao Tzu to Beethoven to Einstein? The idea implies a teleological, directed, and designed course to the origin of our cognition.

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"...arguments that one or a few random mutations magically created humanity’s advanced intellectual abilities strain credulity. The origin of human cognition and speech would have required many changes that represent a suite of complex interdependent traits. Two leading evolutionists writing in a prominent text on primate origins explain that human language could not evolve in an abrupt manner, genetically speaking, because many genetic changes would be necessary:

"Bickerton’s proposal of a single-gene mutation is, I think, too simplistic. Too many factors are involved in language learning — production, perception, comprehension, syntax, usage, symbols, cognition — for language to be the result of a single mutation event.

"Humans are quite different because they possess language, which underlies every major intellectual achievement of humanity. This discontinuity theory is implausible because evolution cannot proceed by inspired jumps, only by accretion of beneficial variants of what went before.

"These authors are correct to reject such “single mutation event” hypotheses — and would be justified in doing the same for two or three mutation events because human cognition is vastly too complex to arise in such a fashion.

Please see part II