DNA clue how humans developed big brains

www.bbc.co.uk...

see i read this and thought really? i,m not so convinced about evolution these days.think you still have to question how in less than 100 years we,ve went from steam engines,wooden planes,hot air balloons to space flight,tablets,internet,mobile phones etc etc

thats a huge leap to take in a short period of time just for basic evolution and human brain to be behind it,even in days of ape to human,fish to lizards coming out water and evolving into the humans walking the earth is hard to believe.

like the fact we have no idea where we came from,they know everying is moving away from us so to explain that they have came up with theory that everything came from a big bang,there was nothing then there was everything?

you ask me what a load of crap, a cop out cause they have no clue.

a reply to: sparky31

So basically you are basing your opinion on the validity of a scientific theory, based on no actual evidence.

You equated the evolution to the origin of the universe (the Big Bang) which is an unrelated theory. Perhaps in your opinion we need top have every theory relate to every other one?

Evolution as a scientific theory is based upon objective evidence, not belief.

a reply to: sparky31
From your link:

As early humans evolved, they developed larger and more complex brains, which can process and store a lot of information.

Last year, scientists pinpointed a human gene that they think was behind the expansion of a key brain region known as the neocortex.

They believe the gene arose about five or six million years ago, after the human line had split off from chimpanzees.

you ask me what a load of crap, a cop out cause they have no clue.

I gave you a star and a flag for your thoughts even though I disagree.. Religion came about because they had no clue, therefore enter some Skyfairy... science is about repeatable discoveries and theories about observations (why what we see is before our very eyes)... Both attempt to explain the world around us...The super religious nations of the world are a backward lot for they spend all their time thinking about some Skyfairy instead of science .. either one will not matter if some asteroid hits tomorrow and wipes out all life... unless science can stop the event..

a reply to: 727Sky didn,t want to mention religion cause my thoughts on that would probably upset a few but your right an asteroid will hit some day,not if but when and will we be able to stop it? not so sure.

science is about repetable discoveries but even just over 20 years ago we were unique,they had no planets orbiting other stars.

they did believe we were a one off,today we know just about every star in night sky has planets orbiting it.

they can be wrong and i think when me,you are long gone then the evolution theory may have to be looked at as well.

a reply to: sparky31

Do you understand science is a philosophy which allows its self to restructure it's theories based upon new evidence? Every single theory, hypothesis, or formative idea, is open to being investigated. All you need is evidence, which can be peer reviewed.

a reply to: sparky31

There is a lot that led to the industrial revolution, but to generalize a large part of it has to do with european culture at the time. A lot more open they just had the reformation, the protestant work ethic, innovations and working hard were now seen as virtues, in the aristocratic world of before they were not.
Another part has to do with breeding patterns starting in feudal europe with purposely preventing cousin marriage(it was for the benefit of the landowners to keep clans from getting to tight knit) and how the rich and successful literally bred the poor and dumb people out of existence due to life expectancy.

All in all its quite a stretch for you to say that.

If the big bang was the only reason behind expansion then wouldn't the universe eventually collapse? Or perhaps slow it's expansion by now?

a reply to: sparky31

The human diet has played a massive role in the evolution of our brain.
Going from chewing raw meat, chewing uncooked tubers and raw vegetables to throwing it in hot water or onto hot coals is a massive leap for conservation of energy.
Think about the amount of calories the body burns just to eat raw foods, you need to pick, or catch it, then chew it, then go through a harsh digestion process, do that day in and out, it'll play a toll on the bodies organs.
Now take away more than half of that and allow the brain to use majority of the calories instead, it's bound to progress rapidly, and with the added benefits of settling in one place, eating clean meat that isn't festering or teeming with bacteria and parasites.

Human evolution has come leaps and bounds since the agricultural revolution. Instead of spending all our time of surviving, we concentrate on building upon craft and family and conquest.

But the big question is, when did this all begin?
When did we start to develop the foundation of our rapid evolution?

The articles brings up this point:

Between two and six million years ago, the ancestors of modern humans began to walk upright and use simple tools. During this extended period of time, their brain size started to increase. They began to spread around the world, encountering different environments.

This is a very vague statement. Yes between this and that time we started to evolve big brains, but you must understand that evolution has so many variables to it that it's extremely difficult to pin point the exact moment something 'changes'.
When you really think about it, it all boils down to this. Our ancestors were extremely lucky, and seemed to have a knack of exploration, why? I am not sure, but it sure did give us that extra drive to survive over all other animals throughout the ages, and still does.

a reply to: sparky31

What are you alluding to? That the speed of our technological advancement is due to alien or diving intervention?? Give us humans some credit.

Even if that were true, how does that negate our biological evolution?

theory that everything came from a big bang,there was nothing then there was everything?

The Theory says everything that is now the known physical Universe expanded from a point of nearly infinite density (a singularity). So it did come from "something". Where did the singularity come from? The question of ultimate origin is still there, sure, but a creator god doesn't resolve that line of thought.

*Evolution and TBBT should be separate discussions.

originally posted by: Lucid Lunacy
a reply to: sparky31

What are you alluding to? That the speed of our technological advancement is due to alien or diving intervention?? Give us humans some credit.

Even if that were true, how does that negate our biological evolution?

theory that everything came from a big bang,there was nothing then there was everything?

The Theory says everything that is now the known physical Universe expanded from a point of nearly infinite density (a singularity). So it did come from "something". Where did the singularity come from? The question of ultimate origin is still there, sure, but a creator god doesn't resolve that line of thought.

*Evolution and TBBT should be separate discussions.

I'm not sure he knowas what he was getting at. Hes mixed the big bang and evolution in some way. This happens alot especially when religion gets involved. Evolution says nothing about origin. It is simply an observation that states lifers adapt to there surroundings. For example the giraffe as food became less abundant in the Sahara it was a big advantage for an animal to be able to reach higher in to trees.


Or even as one celled organism adapting to say an akaline environment. As a general rule things which don't kill off lifeforms make them stronger. Human beings have adapted to out environment think about how many germs and viruses try to kill is. But we have adapted to at least limit there effects. An alien species not from earth would last a week before dropping dead from some common virus like EcolI etc.

People want to claim evolution is a theory not realizing what that means. The theory explains observation. There is no doubt lifeforms adapt what evolution explains is why. And if you think about it its really common sense since evolution says lifeforms adapt to survive. Doesn't really seem that earth shattering does it??

a reply to: dragonridr

I feel that the problem with this (and similar threads) is you have someone who actually does not understand what the subject is, comes in and thinks they have "proven it is wrong" by broad sweeping statements.

Quite simply the OP does not know their arse from their elbows when they speak about science. Which is OK, but they're not qualified to disprove science.

a reply to: Noinden

Even the notion of disproving science is absurd. Science simply represents humanity's best methodology for understanding what we observe at this present time. To deny science is to say humans have made no progress towards discovering the mechanisms underlying our physical reality. Which of course, is not true. Otherwise, the naysayers of science would be unable to post their gripes about it with their computers; a feat at the pinnacle of scientific achievement.

Quite simply the OP does not know their arse from their elbows when they speak about science.

From what I can tell, those that speak against science never do.

a reply to: Lucid Lunacy

Well you can disprove a theory with enough evidence, but only if the evidence replaces it with something more accurate. The problem really is many who do not like science don't understand that being willing to change is a place of strength, not weakness.

Weird OP. "Here's some evidence of evolution and how our understanding of brain development is improving. Now let me deny it and claim evolution is wrong via broad generalizations." You'd think they wouldn't bother posting the contradictory evidence if that was their position because the arguments were mostly unrelated to the article.

A leap in technology isn't the same as a leap in intelligence. Sometimes it just takes one person to invent the right thing at the right time and the technology will spiral out from that (ie the transistor).