The increase in human brain size seems more due to increased ability to get enough calories to fuel it than it does to the benefits of intelligence. See Suzana Herculano-Houzel’s book The Human Advantage for evidence.
Basic question: how can this be a sufficient explanation? There needs to be *some* advantage to having the bigger brain, it being “cheap” isn’t a good enough explanation...
OK I understand. JTBC, my original statement was: ” language and human culture created lead to a massive increase in returns to intelligence”, not that larger brains (/greater intelligence) suddenly became valuable.
I second this recommendation. Not just for this reason—it clears up a lot of foggy definitions and longstanding misapprehensions about comparative neuroscience in a wonderfully neat, tidy package.
The increase in human brain size seems more due to increased ability to get enough calories to fuel it than it does to the benefits of intelligence. See Suzana Herculano-Houzel’s book The Human Advantage for evidence.
Basic question: how can this be a sufficient explanation? There needs to be *some* advantage to having the bigger brain, it being “cheap” isn’t a good enough explanation...
My point is that the advantage to bigger brains existed long before humans.
This paper suggests that larger brains enable a more diverse diet.
OK I understand. JTBC, my original statement was: ” language and human culture created lead to a massive increase in returns to intelligence”, not that larger brains (/greater intelligence) suddenly became valuable.
I second this recommendation. Not just for this reason—it clears up a lot of foggy definitions and longstanding misapprehensions about comparative neuroscience in a wonderfully neat, tidy package.