Autism

For anyone interested in evolution of that capability that really sets
us apart from apes & all other mammals, set aside an hour to listen on
line or podcast this fascinating program recently broadcast on the ABC
Science Show, on autism and especially savantism:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2435350.htm

Our brains are clearly enormously powerful and exapted for all manner
of purposes that were never encountered on the coastal margins of the
gallery savannah (my MP3 player's not even waterproof - if that
doesn't disprove AAH I don't know what will!) But the impact when a
fault in 1 part (related to the ability to process social situations,
or to distinguish between "important" features and details, which are
2 of the explanations posited in the program), the result can be
development of almost superhuman capabilities in other areas, such as
Derek the blind piano playing genius who features in the program.

(On the other hand, another researcher cautions against building the
expectation on every parent of an autistic child that he or she will
be a Rain Man-style savant.)

There are 2 great events in human evolution from apes - the origin of
bipedalism and the quadrupling of brain size from australopithecine
ape to modern Homo. We should talk more about modern research into
brain capability and brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and
autism, for the insights they could provide into the second of these
events...

Ross Macfarlane
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why do people lean towards chaos instead of order?
    ... >> "Human Brain Still Evolving ... > I thought this was a discussion on evolution... ... > Can you show me instances of apes walking upright and talking ?? ...
    (alt.gathering.rainbow)
  • Re: Autism
    ... For anyone interested in evolution of that capability that really sets ... us apart from apes & all other mammals, set aside an hour to listen on ... bipedalism and the quadrupling of brain size from australopithecine ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Out of the mouths of babes
    ... "What do you mean we're apes? ... "Siding with evolution does not really pose a serious problem ... in the neuroscience community that the mind is entirely the product ... Neuroscience gears up for duel on the issue of brain versus deity ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Capacity for literacy
    ... Using chimps and children as ... to a change in brain structure. ... is meant to exclude other apes. ... On what basis would you speculate that great apes have become smarter ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)
  • Re: Saving Metabolic Energy Seen As Factor In Switch To Bipedalism
    ... bipedalism millions of years before bipedal hominids evolved large ... The earliest "large" brain in the fossil ... Walking +-vertically on 2 feet is regularly seen in all apes, ... giving birth, is the pelvis ... ...
    (sci.anthropology.paleo)