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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 4 page paper considers the development of intelligence with regard to brain size, gestation period, and social organization among other factors. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVIntlEv.rtf
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social organization. Discussion To start with the basics, we find that the evolutionary theory has been used to explain the development of intelligence since Charles Darwin first published On the
Origin of Species, which "presented the first account of the mechanism of evolutionary change" (Grossman and Kaufman 10). It seems logical to follow this progression: as we evolved as a
species, our brains and capacity for intellectual activity evolved as well. Zyga notes that one of the "main differences between humans and other animals is our larger brain size," but
its not really known how our larger brains evolved (Zyga). Scientists at the University of Tennessee "have recently modeled the evolution of the brain, based on previous explanations of intelligence
as the individuals quest to achieve greater social and reproductive success (Zyga). They posit three "phases of evolutionary intelligence" that they have identified by running through "about 30,000 generations of
humans" (Zyga). The first is the "dormant phase," in which the "only route to an individuals increased intelligence is to invent an idea in his lifetime" (Zyga). The researchers say
that "nothing much" happens in the "dormant phase"; its not until the "cognitive explosion phase," which occurred 5,000 - 20,000 generations later, that the brains "increased learning ability and cerebral
capacity" become advantageous (Zyga). At this time, "much of the population has received both genes, promoting rapid expansion of the ideas. Interestingly, the scientists found that cerebral capacity evolves more
rapidly than learning ability, suggesting that potential is more important than ability" (Zyga). In addition, although complex ideas are "more beneficial for the population," individuals develop simple ideas at this
time, which surprised the researchers (Zyga). Over time, the complexity of ideas within the population decreases, which is counter-intuitive; we would expect them to become more complex (Zyga). The
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