The Argument- The Flynn affect, as described on page 42, proved the notion of fixed intelligence wrong. The affect shows that ‘there has been a linear and uninterrupted increase in the average human intellectual capabilities’ (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-is-the-flynn-effect.html). Flynn found that our ancestors are considered to be mentally retarded today. Do you really believe our ancestors were mentally retarded? If not, then what could be the reasons for why their IQ’s are so much lower? If yes, then what are some of the factors that have improved our relative intelligence score over the years? Does this mean that in one hundred years from now, we too will rank retarded in comparison to the generations to come? The improvement in IQ over the years proves that more exposure to scientific information has, in a sense, ‘liberated’ the mind. What does this mean in terms of our genes compared to our ancestors’?
Michaela Margolis (mmargolis989@gmail.com)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_human_intelligence
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Human intelligence is a demonstration of evolution. 10 million years ago, the earth cooled and the North African tropical forest turned into a desert. The tree-dwelling animals were then forced to live on land and were exposed to predators. This is when the competition of resources began. Through adaptation, some Hominine began walking on their hind legs, which raised their eyesight elevation and made it more efficient for them to collect food. Others began the use of primitive technology such as using stones as weapons. Through natural selection, these traits enabled Hominine to survive and their brain began to grow in size and function. Thanks to these traits, they also were able to reproduce. Then 2.4 million years ago, Homo Habilis appeared, the first known human species. They probably branched from Hominine, having inherited useful traits from their ancestors in order to survive. They had a larger skull and so through natural selection, the female enquired a bigger birth canal. Because of the larger skull, the brain began to grow. Since bands fought with each other for food, Homo Habilis relied even more on their brains to make tools in order to capture food. That’s when intelligence became increasingly important. So through the increasing use of the brain, the bands with higher intelligence were able to make better tools and feed their bands, therefore they were able to reproduce and survive which is natural selection. Then Homo Sapiens spread throughout Africa after 200,000 years ago. They probably branched off the Homo Habilis. Then a huge volcano killed most of the homo sapiens and only 10,000 survived because of their ability to adapt to change; this caused reproductive isolation and after a long time, macroevolution finally happens. They were more intelligent and had bigger brains in order to invent new tools and find warm places. Through evolution, the animals with higher intelligence were able to survive and reproduce and pass the favorable traits off to their offspring. So because in the beginning due to the competition for resources, the organisms with survival and reproductive success were able to pass their traits to their off springs, in this case, a smarter brain, resulting in natural selection. Then because of the environmental traits over time, microevolution occurs. After spatially different environments, divergence of populations occurs and then because of reproductive isolation, speciation and extinctions happens. After a very long time, macroevolution finally occurs, where the brain has developed the way we have now. The environment is the reason why human intelligence capabilities kept on increasing. Because of the harsh environment, the need for tools to capture food, and the need for shelter, our ancestors adapted to the environment and were able to survive. They are not mentally retarded because they were able to adapt their intelligence level to their environment to survive. The reason why intelligence has kept on growing in our generation is because of our environment as well. Society nowadays is becoming increasingly intelligent based rather than physical. Most of the well earning jobs involve using one’s brain. So in order to compete for the best earning jobs to earn money to survive, one needs to get into a good college and gain good grades, and high intelligence is necessary. I don’t think our mind has been liberated; it’s just that in order to survive and reproduce, our brain develops the necessities to survive in the current environment. Animals don’t choose to adapt, it just happens due to natural selection and eventually evolution.
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