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"Why the BIG Brain?", Early Primates, brain size increased with…
"Why the BIG Brain?"
How big is BIG?
traditional thinking vs new thinking
Traditional Thinking
human mind = 'Swiss Army Knife'
cognitive gadgets/modules
only Pleistocene epoch
New Thinking
human mind = 'hand'
deep evolutionary history; beyond only the Pleistocene epoch
accounts for genetic adaptations
domain-general;
capable of performing wide, open-ended variety of technical and social functions
co-evolution
gene-culture co-evolution
positive feedback btwn genetic and non-genetic mechanisms of inheritance
ie. dairying and lactose tolerance
assimilate and stretch principle; genetic assimilation makes room for further learning
techno-social co-evolution
technical and social skills become linked by positive feedback loops
emergence of human language from complex gestures
patience + social tolerance
The Big Brain Conundrum
highly encephalized primates
larger-than-expected brain to body size
high metabolic cost; high BMR in brain
must continually supply the brain with high levels of substrate and oxygen
brain is unable to store significant energy reserves
BMR of body is normal/expected for body size
small body size
increased brain to body size
high metabolic cost
high encephalization
better arboreal navigation
better depth perception
criss-crossed somatosensory organization
improved visual grasp reflex
retinotopy; binocular vision + front-facing eyes
precocial
smaller litter sizes
extended gestation and development time
relatively stable environment and population size
well-developed offspring
lower infant mortality
Early Primates
Simians
tactical deception
allows groups to stay together
highly indicative of intelligence
Great Apes
sense of SELF
able to recognize own reflection
passed the dot test
central to survival; recognizing friend from foe
potential for ToM
passed the True Belief test
passed the False Belief test
Early Hominins
Homo Sapiens
ToM
cognition
brain is 2x larger than expected
able to distinguish categories + compare sets of objects
rapid learning
ToM unlikely
learn via trial-and-error
brain size increased with body size