Ever since the Theory of Evolution was first mooted, the nature of human intelligence (and our self-ascribed success) have been contentious talking points. At first it seemed clear: creatures with bigger brains were more intelligent. Thus bigger-brained mammals did for those dim-witted dinosaurs, and so on. There’s something here: bigger animals like elephants and whales tend to be brighter than smaller ones. And there is discernible trend in brain size in hominin evolution. More subtle analyses suggested comparing the ratio of brain size to body mass. But if this was the answer, Capuchin monkeys would be the most intelligent beings on the planet.
One school of thought has always concentrated on quality and areas of the brain which are involved in thinking. Now a recent study gives strong support to this approach. Writing in the Conversation, Robert Foley and Marta Lahr describe how the neocortex burns up far more energy than the “ordinary” neurons in other regions of the brain. And that this area is precisely the one most developed when we compare human brains with those of our brightest mammalian relatives.
Now, we never think that one discovery, how ever well researched, is the be-all answer to a problem. But like all the best work, this one provides substantial grounds for further work, and above all guidelines for well funded investigation.
And one more sly thought, prompted by yesterday’s blog: if our ancestors were getting bright, could they have built a nifty little raft and got to Socotra after all.?
thanks to mr p seymour
#evolution #cognition #neocortex
Learning, Science and Society 