[Ilugc] [OT] Evolution (was: Re: Older PC's)

From: suraj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Suraj Kumar)
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2012 12:07:19 +0530

On Sat, Jun 16, 2012 at 9:36 AM, Balachandran Sivakumar <
benignbala at gmail.com> wrote:

Not really. Our brain has been having upgrades, may be every
second, through the process of evolution :)

I understand I'm taking the topic even more farther into the woods. Hence
the edit to the subject to mark this OT :)

What you say here is partially True and partially Untrue.

True : We are being 'selected' continuously. It is not the same old design
that was "billions of years ago". Atleast, as recent as 2 million years ago
the model changed significantly to introduce the "Neo cortex", which is
arguably humanity's boon (and IMHO bane). Given our brain is our main
'niche' tool for survival it is being rigorously tested and selected. So
certainly, it is changing. But how much of the observable end results
(intelligence, sympathy, cunningness, etc.,) is acquired and how much is
naturally endowed is a topic of debate (ex: see the bit about "natural
history of Ashkenazi intelligence" -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi_intelligence ;).

The "maybe every second" bit is untrue. Evolution does not happen in
seconds (unless you are talking about those species whose life times are in
the order of milli seconds... or "Hulk" ;) ). Individuals don't evolve,
individuals have the choice to adapt to (or perish due to) an ever changing
world. Those that remain 'carry forward' the process of evolution by
passing on their special traits to their young ones. Also, acquired traits
are not be passed on to the offsprings during evolution. The knowledge one
learns (which may inturn cause physiological "state" changes in the brain)
is not passed on genetically. So if you lost a limb in an accident, thank
goodness, atleast your chlidren will have limbs ;)

This website helped me learn the basics / validate my understanding of
Evolution: http://talkorigins.org/

</off-topic>

cheers,

-Suraj

--
Career Gear - Industry Driven Talent Factory
http://careergear.in/

[Ilugc] [OT] Evolution (was: Re: Older PC's)

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