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Author: turtoniturtoni Date: Mar 28, 2008 22:00
The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had
the same capabilities of today's man.
I thought that was a pretty interesting.
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Author: Sir FrederickSir Frederick Date: Mar 28, 2008 22:40
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:00:32 -0700 (PDT), turtoni fastmail.net> wrote:
>The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
>Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had
>the same capabilities of today's man.
>
>I thought that was a pretty interesting.
I suspect "modern" environments have taken a slight toll on the
"hardware", whereas the "software" is improved with a few less
false folk lores to misguide it.
At base we remain very finite and deceiving. I wonder how long
we can remain functional enough?
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Author: ImmortalistImmortalist Date: Mar 28, 2008 22:52
On Mar 28, 10:00 pm, turtoni fastmail.net> wrote:> The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
> Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had
> the same capabilities of today's man.
>
> I thought that was a pretty interesting.
Generally true, but culture and genes probably interact slowly...
Genetic Influence on Cultural Evolution
Genes have an impact on cultural evolution via psychological
predispositions on cultural learning. Genes encode much of the
information needed to form the human brain. Genes constrain the
brain's structure and, hence, the ability of the brain to store
culture. Genes may also endow individuals with certain types of
transmission bias (described below).
Cultural Influences on Genetic Evolution
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Author: Day BrownDay Brown Date: Mar 28, 2008 23:19
Just because the skull, which was preserved, has not changed, does not
mean the brain within has not. Skulls of identical shape can have
dramatically different capabilities if one has more gray matter while
the other has more white matter.
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Date: Mar 29, 2008 05:28
> The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
> Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had
> the same capabilities of today's man.
Our ancestors were not compelled to upgrade as frequently as we are today.
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Author: ZerkonXZerkonX Date: Mar 29, 2008 07:05
On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:00:32 -0700, turtoni wrote:
> The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
> Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had the
> same capabilities of today's man.
>
> I thought that was a pretty interesting.
I do not see how it is possible for the 'hardware' not to be different
given dietary (all food and water) considerations.
Also, something else for this brain = computer metaphor to consider is
the fact that new (different) software drives new hardware. You can't
play the new stuff on the old stuff.
The more things change the more they remain the same certainly seems the
way of things but this is not reflected in tangible works of the mind,
only in the mind itself or, as said, so it seems.
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Author: chazwinchazwin Date: Mar 29, 2008 10:28
On Mar 29, 5:00 am, turtoni fastmail.net> wrote:> The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
> Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had
> the same capabilities of today's man.
>
> I thought that was a pretty interesting.
This is false or misleading, or both.
The hardware/software distinction is misleading. The brain is no
programmable/de-programmable. Software cannot be changed. It is
modified on a daily basis though....
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Author: chazwinchazwin Date: Mar 29, 2008 10:34
On Mar 29, 6:19 am, Day Brown hughes.net> wrote:> Just because the skull, which was preserved, has not changed, does not
> mean the brain within has not. Skulls of identical shape can have
> dramatically different capabilities if one has more gray matter while
> the other has more white matter.
All human brains are unique - like the human face. A brain has
structure for diffences in fucntion like faces have eyes ears noses
etc. but all faces are different. With each new born child comes a new
unique brain. This is change, unavoidable, inexorable. And our own
brains change minute by minute, each new mamory is represented by a
physical change in the brain.
There is much secondary evidence for evolutionary change in the brain
over longer periods such as 50 thousand years (eg the emergence of
art). But evolution does not necesarily happen in giant leaps - small
changes happen with each and every generation. It is simply not
posible to deny change.
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Author: Day BrownDay Brown Date: Mar 29, 2008 14:23
On Mar 29, 12:28 pm, chazwin yahoo.com> wrote:> On Mar 29, 5:00 am, turtoni fastmail.net> wrote:
>>> The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
>> Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had
>> the same capabilities of today's man.
>
>> I thought that was a pretty interesting.
>
> This is false or misleading, or both.
> The hardware/software distinction is misleading. The brain is no
> programmable/de-programmable. Software cannot be changed. It is
> modified on a daily basis though. And each person's hardware, though
> similarly structured, is unique. Further it is probably the case that
> our "software" makes "hardware" changes as we grow.
> The brain does have structure, in which certain areas have particular
> functions (face recognition area, hippo-campus for memory and
> planning, prefrontal lobe related to persoanlity etc..)
> But all human brains changed yesterday and today. All human brains are
> in a continual state of change. This is presumably what you like to ...
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Author: turtoniturtoni Date: Mar 29, 2008 16:15
On Mar 29, 1:40 am, Sir Frederick fuzzysys.com> wrote:> On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:00:32 -0700 (PDT), turtoni fastmail.net> wrote:>>The hardware of the human brain has not changed in thousands of years.
>>Only the software has really changed. So the earliest of mankind had
>>the same capabilities of today's man.
>
>>I thought that was a pretty interesting.
>
> I suspect "modern" environments have taken a slight toll on the
> "hardware", whereas the "software" is improved with a few less
> false folk lores to misguide it.
We've been around for 4000 generations? (from say 200,000 years ago)
Not long. We haven't changed much really.
> At base we remain very finite and deceiving. I wonder how long
> we can remain functional enough?
I imagine "we'll" come up with something.
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