What I meant with 'how intelligent' is simply 'how many thoughts went into it'. Similar to parallel processing in computers. One computer can solve something in very few steps, when it can delegate work to other computers along the way. That is what you do when you use your knowledge, whether...
Not the strongest post ever I will admit.. what a mess.
But to rescue the main point.. the difference between a human 'sec' and one that benefits from accumulated knowledge is becoming bigger and bigger. That is due to 'parallel processing', since language you can benefit from the thoughts of...
"no particular gender difference in quantity nor quality for either gossip or fashion" ?
Now you look at any news stand in the world and look at the magazines sections and see the information men and women are willing to pay for. And then think again.. Imagine you just walked in from Mars and...
What I am getting at is the enormous gap between the intelligence of the whole, and the intelligence of the individual.
We tend to credit the individual mind with the achievements of the whole. But there isn't anyone alive that could invent a knife from scratch, without any previous knowledge...
The point I was trying to make is that there is an immense difference between the intelligence of the whole and the intelligence of the individual. If you take the individual without any outside knowledge. The difference is in 'parallel processing through language'.
Right now it is the sum of...
So what did you invent? What did you add to the human environment?
What you see around you is the result of parallel processing, not individual quality. That leads people to overestimate individual intelligence.
Never did I say there is anything bad about learning from others, or that...
Newton said it, 'If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants'.
People still think humans are so clever, I don't believe it. Our brains stumbled upon the power of parallel processing, through a language interface. We can benefit from the thoughts of all the people...
Naah, why bother with gender sensitivities, we're past that. Or at least we should be. Female behaviour is just as odd as male behaviour.
People still think humans are special, that just isn't so. Our brains stumbled upon parallel processing through a language interface, which got even more...
You lived among those primates long enough to know what they talk about.
It is easy to make a caricature of the evolutionary psychology kind of reasoning. When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. But then again, when all you have is a nail, all you need is a hammer. And...
I am talking about gender differences as they may have influenced evolution. The differences are there, I am not making them up. Pretending they are not there and have never been there is a losing battle. Hunter-gatherer is the generally accepted model. With men mostly hunting and women mostly...
There can be real value in knowing someone can't be trusted or is in a close coalition with someone else. That is of value to both sexes and you can expect both sexes to be talking about that. The socialisation through laughter and storytelling in my other post on my blog is a related issue...
Well I am glad you find it obvious, that is a good sign..
It isn't to everyone if you look here:
http://www.apa.org/science/psa/apr05gossip.html"
Like I said, fashion trends and gossip isn't exclusive to women. But it is the mainstay of female magazine section for example. And of course women...
Nothing is black and white. Men follow fashion and women like cars. But when you look at what interests people for example in buying magazines, the lines between the sexes are pretty clear cut. Over many cultures, as you can see in every magazine stand. That deserves an explanation.
I wrote something which I believe gets to the origin of fashion and gossip in a simple and logical way. I would be happy with any comment on whether it makes sense to you or not.
Why do women find it important to be in on the latest fashion trends and gossip? Fashion's use couldn't be just...