Comments on: Where are our shrinking brain theories?

By: TGGP

TGGP — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:33:17 +0000

John Hawks says “I think this paper may single-handedly destroy the credibility of [i]Climatic Change[/i]”
http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/climate-brain-expansion-new-scientist-2009.html

By: Tom Rees

Tom Rees — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:19:39 +0000

I always assumed that the reason for shrinking brains is that large brains are not worth the cost. They may well make you more intelligent, but intelligence don’t necessarily equate with reproductive fitness. The fact that most animals don’t go down this route shows what a borderline proposition it is.
Our ancestors were competing with big-brained Neanderthals. Perhaps they did it by being more stupid but breeding faster!

By: Mark(p.s.)

Mark(p.s.) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:16:41 +0000

re:Essential fatty acids and schizophrenia.
“fat-rich Western societies experience more schizotypal illness than fat-poor Third World ones”
In my opinion the association of schizophrenia and fatty acids is false.
Third world living may be closer to nature compared to the stressful urban artificial environment of the western world, stressful world that can make a persons mind in conflict enough to hallucinate to listen to the suppressed unconscious mind.
pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/41/7/36
“Ever since 1939, a growing number of studies has demonstrated that the rate of schizophrenia in urban areas is higher than in rural ones.”
Ignoring physical causes for “schizophrenia” such as food allergy . gluten allergy. What about western world VS third world here?
Just shut em up with antipsychotics, never mind the cause.

By: Lilian Nattel

Lilian Nattel — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:50:50 +0000

Hmm, so the brain has shrunk. Well that explains some things.