Why did humans evolve such a big brain?
As you all might know the brain is relatively the most energy-consuming organ in the body. It is therefore not cheap, resource wise, to have a bg brain. Therefore there must have been a real good reason why our brains have grown so big. If I remember correctly there was a 3x size increase from the earliest hominoids to us humans.
There are many theories foating around. What do we think about this subject in sciforums. I shall mention some theories here shortyly.
1. radiator theory. A brain needs to be cool to perform well. The evolution of more veins for cooling allowed for a bigger brain.
2. Switch in diet. The brain consumes a lot of energy. Did we become carnivorous which allowed us to grow bigger brains?
3. Expertise. We needed more expertise to survive in a new environment (savanah).
4. Baldwin effect. A entirely cultural phenomenon (as picking up a rock and throwing it at something) led to increase in brain size.
5. Social effect. We became more social and we needed a bigger brain for these complex social interactions. We became more dependent on social interactions to survive in a new hostile environment.
6. Add your own.
As you all might know the brain is relatively the most energy-consuming organ in the body. It is therefore not cheap, resource wise, to have a bg brain. Therefore there must have been a real good reason why our brains have grown so big. If I remember correctly there was a 3x size increase from the earliest hominoids to us humans.
There are many theories foating around. What do we think about this subject in sciforums. I shall mention some theories here shortyly.
1. radiator theory. A brain needs to be cool to perform well. The evolution of more veins for cooling allowed for a bigger brain.
2. Switch in diet. The brain consumes a lot of energy. Did we become carnivorous which allowed us to grow bigger brains?
3. Expertise. We needed more expertise to survive in a new environment (savanah).
4. Baldwin effect. A entirely cultural phenomenon (as picking up a rock and throwing it at something) led to increase in brain size.
5. Social effect. We became more social and we needed a bigger brain for these complex social interactions. We became more dependent on social interactions to survive in a new hostile environment.
6. Add your own.