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Why do we say it? What are the proximal and ultimate explanations?
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Why do we say it? What are the proximal and ultimate explanations?
I tried to do some digging on the decrease in brain size in modern humans. The textbook only mentions this -- with no explanation. I did find a stat that the brains of humans today are 4% smaller than that of Cro-Magnon. So this may be the origin of the statistic. That said, Cro-magnons were tall, averaging around 6 feet for males. Though their EQ was probably the same as ours today. What this means is that if you take a group of tall individuals (cro-magnons) and compare their brain size to the average human male (averaging in tall and short groups) today, you'll observe a decrease. Statistically, this is called regression to the mean. So, brain sizes have likely not been increasing. That's my interpretation after 10 mins of internet research. Let me know if you find anything interesting.
In other news, I also stumbled on some information doing the above "research". Skulls were recently (since the printing of my reference books) uncovered in Africa indicating that modern humans existed as long ago as 160,000 ya. They do have a brow ridge, but more closely resemble modern, as opposed to archaic, homo sapiens. Some believe they should be put in a different subspecies: Homo sapiens idaltu. Still, this is further evidence that we evolved out of Africa and are not decendants of neandertals. click here for a pic.
We talked a bit today about the domains of science and religion pressing hard against each other in certain places, like the existence of a soul? What are your feelings about this?
Also, what about difficulties reconciling the fact that we live in, and have evolved in, a physical world subject to rather strict physical laws? Does God choose to just operate within those laws, as Ken Miller suggests? Is there an issue with God creating laws that he can't break?
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