Human evolution: savannah theory fading; big brain (Introduction)

by dhw, Saturday, March 22, 2025, 08:54 (12 days ago) @ David Turell

The human brain

DAVID: Yes, God put a complexification process into each stage of brain development.

dhw: He would only have needed to do so at the beginning, as it has been in use ever since with every stage. I’m delighted that you now agree with the above, just as you did when we discussed it some time ago.

DAVID: Yes.

Thank you Subject closed till the next time you forget your agreement!

DAVID: The Erectus brain covered many complex problems, but could not handle today's requirements. Even though ours is 315,000 years old it works just fine. That is anticipation of needs.

dhw: In fact, the erectus brain gradually expanded until it came very close to our size. Something triggered the final expansion to our size, and from then on, complexification has coped with all new needs, as it did with every other species until additional cells were required. Each expansion is a response to new needs; the additional cells are not the result of crystal-ball gazing and then hanging around for thousands of years, in our case waiting to invent railways and rockets! They are in constant use, and complexify as and when required to do so. Currently demonstrated by the examples of the illiterate women and taxi-drivers.

DAVID: You want natural evolution. I have God the designer.

dhw: And now you try to ignore your own agreement and all the above arguments by introducing a totally false representation of my approach. Back we go. Read the bold in my first statement: “Don’t you think it would be less of a chore fo him if he just created a mechanism that would perform the same functions?” All my theories allow for God the designer – in this case, as you have agreed, he would have designed the mechanism for complexification (and of course I include enlargement). Please stop pretending that my theories are atheistic, even though you keep agreeing with them!

DAVID: It is you who keep pointing at natural causes for evolutionary changes.

You keep using the term “natural” as if it was the opposite of “designed by God”. If your God designed a mechanism whereby cells did their own designing, the process itself would become natural, but it would still be your God’s design. You are desperately pretending that my (Shapiro’s) theory is atheistic. No it’s not.

The savannah theory

Human evolution: adding to our genome

DAVID: We are stuck with we came from Erectus, who came from someone who came from Lucy,etc.

dhw: Agreed. That is why none of the articles you have presented can in any way disprove the perfectly logical savannah theory regarding the origin of sapiens. You have even supported it yourself with the above theory concerning God’s leg, pelvis and brain operations.

DAVID: The savannah theory is now unsupported by the new findings but still a logical theory.

It is “unsupported” by the new findings because the new findings have nothing to do with the question of sapiens’ origin! You have said yourself that no-one knows the origin, so all we can have is unsupported theories, including your own, which attributes the origin to your God performing operations on individual pelvises, legs and brains.