10 biggest mysteries about humans, page 4

reply to post by steveknows

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Nah.. I was just told by some Greys that Jesus was a scientist

reply to post by Hanslune

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I've always thought that brain development may have been driven by the ability to lie. An ability to be convincingly dishonest would provide a clear evolutionary advantage - think getting out of a sticky spot or increasing your chances to reproduce - but requires a high level of intelligence to get away with (at least for anything longer than the immediate short-term future). Not perhaps the most noble human trait, but an evolutionary advantage nonetheless.

I believe our ability to walk upright has been shown to likely be the result of environmental pressures where our forested environment changed to grasslands due to climate change (yes climate change happened before man hand an impact on it - but that's another story ).

Incidentally, the ability to walk upright, combined with a large brain, has serious implications for child birth. A narrow birth canal is required for the pelvis to maintain sufficient strength to support the bodys' upright weight, and a large brain means a big head to get through that small space.

An infants skull therefore has to be soft and goes some way towards explaining the long development time to independence.

Two awesome books for this subject:

'A Brief History of Nearly Everything' by Bill Bryson has a large section on most of these very questions
'Human Instinct' by Dr. Robert Winston explains the evolution of intelligence and the implications on our modern world.

Also the BBC series 'The Incredible Human Journey' with Dr. Alice Roberts (just about the hottest anthropologist you're ever likely to meet) covers the migration topic particularly well.

In a universe of unending mysteries i thank the OP for highlighting some of the most compelling. S&F for you sir!

Originally posted by Hanslune
The link

At the link you can move thru what the makers of the site think are the ten biggest mysteries involving humans

10. So what kicked off the push for a larger brain?
9. Why stand and walk on two legs when our ape cousins get by on four limbs?
8. What happened to our hair?
7. Why did our closest relatives go extinct?
6. Is human evolution accelerating?
5. What is the hobbit?
4. Why did modern humanity expand past Africa about 50,000 years ago?
3. Did we have sex with Neanderthals? (since we have their DNA this question seem moot, perhaps a better question might be - our we responsible for their demise?)
2. Who was the first hominid?
1. Where do modern humans come from?

edit on 30/11/11 by Hanslune because: Corrected

Hate to be a kill joy and pee on your parade but most of these question are answered in the bbc documentary called "The Origins of us" by the charming Doctor Alice Roberts. There is no mystery of why the human race stood upright or why we lost our hair, its all there in the evidence and archeological record.

enlighten yourself... www.bbc.co.uk...

Originally posted by CrimsonMoon

Originally posted by Hanslune
The link

At the link you can move thru what the makers of the site think are the ten biggest mysteries involving humans

10. So what kicked off the push for a larger brain?
9. Why stand and walk on two legs when our ape cousins get by on four limbs?
8. What happened to our hair?
7. Why did our closest relatives go extinct?
6. Is human evolution accelerating?
5. What is the hobbit?
4. Why did modern humanity expand past Africa about 50,000 years ago?
3. Did we have sex with Neanderthals? (since we have their DNA this question seem moot, perhaps a better question might be - our we responsible for their demise?)
2. Who was the first hominid?
1. Where do modern humans come from?

edit on 30/11/11 by Hanslune because: Corrected

Hate to be a kill joy and pee on your parade but most of these question are answered in the bbc documentary called "The Origins of us" by the charming Doctor Alice Roberts. There is no mystery of why the human race stood upright or why we lost our hair, its all there in the evidence and archeological record.

enlighten yourself... www.bbc.co.uk...

Well, not all of us are Brits or get BBC. But thanks for the link.

reply to post by Hanslune

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10. So what kicked off the push for a larger brain?

Insects were introduced into the diet. The surge of protein was enough to supercharge the brain.
Physiological anthropology 101.

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