Re: Homo floresiensis

From: Peter Jason (paul_at_colonel.com.au)
Date: 11/01/04 

Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004 09:26:52 +1100

"tiglath" <temp3@tiglath.net> wrote in message
news:ac3ef89.0411010939.314b7c48@posting.google.com...
> "Peter Jason" <paul@colonel.com.au> wrote in message significance, for
me, the >
> > Is brain size the only test for intelligence? I think dinosaurs had
bigger
> > brains and they were pretty stupid. Surely intelligence is developed
when
> > there is a need for it - like any other part of the body.
>
>
> What constitutes a "need for it"?
>
> I can't think of a more dire need to smarten up than to forestall
> extinction, and species as a rule seem to become extinct without
> having developed the intelligence to avoid it.
>
> It looks like smart adaptations occur only if they are given time to
> develop, but the rule seems to be that adverse environments do wipe
> out species before they can evolve out of it.
>
> I would not call dinosaurs stupid after considering their longevity
> relative to ours. It does seem that brain size is a determinant of
> intelligence within related families or genera.
>
> Human intelligence appears to be a flash in the pan, but lucky (some
> of) us, anyway.

...."need for it"
A programmer told me once about 'neural networks' ie brain-like structures,
that change shape and size on the input of information. Thus if a dinosaur
leapt over a gorge its brain would change, albeit slightly, therefore.

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