12 DEC 2017 by ideonexus
The Disruptive Nature of Homo sapien's Rapid Rise to Apex...
Genus Homo’s position in the food chain was, until quite recently, solidly in the middle. For millions of years, humans hunted smaller creatures and gathered what they could, all the while being hunted by larger predators. It was only 400,000 years ago that several species of man began to hunt large game on a regular basis, and only in the last 100,000 years – with the rise of Homo sapiens – that man jumped to the top of the food chain.
That spectacular leap from the middle to the top ...18 MAY 2017 by ideonexus
Habituation and Novelty
Beginning in infancy and throughout the life span, humans are motivated by newness, change, and excitement. Habituation, the tendency to lose interest in a repeated event and gain interest in a new one, is one of the most fundamental human reflexes. If the thermostat were to suddenly turn the air conditioning on, you would hear the loud humming sound begin, but within minutes you couldn’t even hear it if you tried. Habituation, a fundamental property of the nervous system, provides mechanis...26 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Flynn-Dickens Model for IQ Gains
Take those born with genes that make them a bit taller and quicker than average. When they start school, they are likely to be a bit better at basketball. The advantage may be modest but then reciprocal causation between the talent advantage and environment kicks in. Because you are better at basketball, you are likely to enjoy it more and play it more than someone who is bit slow or short or overweight. That makes you better still. Your genetic advantage is upgrading your environment, the am...If g-factor is inherited, then how do we explain the Flynn Effect? This model suggests genetic advantages translates into environmental advantage, the environment feeds back to become more challenging.
13 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
The Problem with Natural
A natural pas may afford the most convenient
way to cros a mountain, but it wil be vastly improved by bilding a good road thru it. Fruits and vegetables
that grow wild in their natural state ar greatly and
universally improved and adapted to human needs by
cultivation. Every process of manufacture, from roast-
ing a potato to bilding a battleship, involvs an arti-
ficial change in natural products. All civilization is
based on man's ability to direct natural processes. We
can not depe...Folksonomies: logical fallacy natural
Folksonomies: logical fallacy natural
07 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
The History of Cancer is Long
The battle of living things against cancer began so long ago that its origin is lost in time. But it must have begun, in a natural environment, in which whatever life inhabited the earth, was subjected, for good or ill, to influences that had their origin in sun and storm and the ancient nature of the earth. Some of the elements of this environment created hazards to which life had to adjust or perish. The ultraviolet radiation in sunlight could cause malignancy. So could radiations from cert...24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus