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From: jackson@ttidca.TTI.COM (Dick Jackson)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Why are Humans as Smart as They Are?
Message-ID: <1041@ttidca.TTI.COM>
Date: Tue, 4-Aug-87 11:12:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: ttidca.1041
Posted: Tue Aug  4 11:12:17 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Aug-87 07:10:39 EDT
Reply-To: jackson@ttidcc.UUCP (Dick Jackson)
Distribution: world
Organization: Citicorp/TTI, Santa Monica
Lines: 35

This is a question which has intrigued me for a long time, I wonder if
anyone has any thoughts?

Assume that humans have succeeded in evolutionary terms by exploiting the
"niche" of intelligence, i.e. being capable of rational planning.  Assume
that homo sap evolved gradually from some pre-homo with only apelike
reasoning powers.

Also I have to remember that this growth of "intelligence" didn't just
happen, there was environmental pressure driving it, i.e. at some point it
became an evolutionary advantage to be a little bit smarter than your
peers, you survived preferentially to have more children who inherited
your smartness, and so on.

I can see how this would work at the beginning of the process; development
of an ability to construct mental models of the world allowed prey to be
outwitted instead of outpowered. Language allowed group planning for
mutual benefits, better shelter, shared gathering and storing of food,etc.

But then I look a modern human, playing baseball, or playing the piano,
or making abstruse mathematical "discoveries". It seems to me that we
are much too mentally able than we need to be.  What was the environmental
pressure that made us THIS smart?  And, why not smarter?

One theory that has been put forward is that, at some stage, our ancestors
were not the only species specializing in being bright, and the two rival
species "fought it out", each pushing the other to be cleverer.  Finally,
WE WON and wiped out the other (Neanderthal?).  OK, I can't get too
excited about this theory, but at least its a try.

There is another answer which is dissatisfying, i.e. that we are this
smart because we are capable of posing this question. If less smart we
couldn't have thought of it, if more smart -- the answer would be obvious.

Dick Jackson