Bloggers for Peer Reviewed Research Icon Contest

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Squirrel Obstacle Course

Question: Could the problem-solving skills used by habitual users of the course cause evolutionary pressure over long periods of time?

Exaptation

Early man, living on the savanna, evolved to throw a spear. Being able to successfully throw a spear allowed early humanity to hunt/gather more food, and thus a better chance to pass on the genetics that allow for well-thrown-spears. To throw a spear well, humans must be able to instinctively calculate to allow for wind, motion of target, up-hill, down-hill throws, etc.

As a side effect of being able to instinctively calculate a well-thrown spear (survival adaptation) when humanity later invents mathematics and trigonometry, humanity finds they have a built-in aptitude for this kind of thinking.

Exaptation = An unlooked for side effect of evolved behaviors.

An interesting side effect of this is that a larger right-brain (computation) makes for better antelope catching. The larger right brain allows for quicker instinctive calculation of prehistoric antelope artillery - making for quicker kills, more prosperous humans, and more reproduced genes to select from.

Further, it is easier for the genetic map to simply allow for a larger over-all brain, than simply a larger right brain. So consequently the left-brain (linguistics, imagination) also gets larger.

Ultimately the result is the evolution of poetic artillery-men. (*grin*)

Paraphrased from PZ Myers, Prof. Biology, University of Minnesota.

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Interesting notion. For a start, this theory starts to explain how behaviours may evolve that do not necessarily directly equate to passing on the genetic line - or may be an unlooked for result of that survival trait. Very interesting.

Why/How could Altruism "evolve"?

If I were a....

Lego-man, Star-Trek Red Shirt.

(Hey, why not kill 2 birds with one (plastic) stone?)

;-)


http://www.reasonablyclever.com/mm2/