the evolving mind

The human child takes proportionately longer than the 5 to 10 years typical of monkeys and apes to absorb all the necessary information and experiences into that little brain to allow it to cope with the social world into which it has been born.
- Robin Dunbar (8)

The Great Dane is one of the largest dog breeds, tipping the scale at 120-200 lbs. These dogs grow rapidly and achieve sexual maturity in one to two years. In terms of body mass, adult chimpanzees are in the same ballpark. And yet they don’t reach sexual maturity until 6 to 10 years of age. Why the delayed sexual development of this primate species? The answer, at least in part, is that it allows time for cognitive development. Chimpanzees are a fundamentally social species that not only learn from one another but also learn about one another: Who is dominant, who can be dominated, who makes for a good ally, who does not.

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Technorati Links: evolution, primatology, psychology

Is it just me, or does this title stink like rotten fish:

Computers That Understand How You Feel

Okay, a title can’t stink. But I think that is obvious. Is it likewise obvious that computers can’t understand how you feel? I mean, really.

Here is what a state-of-the-art computer can do (particularly the software):

A navigation system able to provide emergency services with the quickest route while at the same time taking stress into account; this is an example of a new type of dialogue system developed by PhD candidate Trung Bui of the University of Twente. His dialogue system recognizes the user’s emotions and is able to react to them.

A “dialogue system” that recognizes emotions and reacts to them . . . No problems here. It is less likely a person is going to absorb stupid connotations by reading about a computer reacting to input, thanks to sophisticated software, than a person reading about computers understanding feelings.

Titles matter because science reporting for a general audience tends to be both superficial and exaggerated. To help educate people about science and such things as the importance of precision –precision of measurement and precision of word use — why not start with the title?

Technorati Links: critical thinking, semantics

How’s this for an earth-shaking headline that appeared a couple weeks ago at ScienceDaily: Conclusive Proof That Polar Warming Is Being Caused By Humans.

Holy smokes. Conclusive proof! Okay, beyond the arguably hyperbolic prose (how often does evidence really rise to the level of “conclusive proof”?), there is some robust science reported here. Important science.

Now, a newly updated data-set of land surface temperatures and simulations from four new climate models show that temperature rises in both polar regions are not consistent with natural climate variability alone and are directly attributable to human influence.

When new evidence comes in — or even a new view of a pre-existing data set — you learn something new. To me, this is a win-win situation. To confirm what you already thought is a win, as is learning something new.

That’s my opinion.

Technorati Links: critical thinking, education

Sunday. Although I certainly don’t “obey” the Sabbath, I do a lot less work on Sundays. And it’s not just to make time for football (go Patriots!).

I wonder if setting aside some time each week for activities that may help us pull back from every day concerns (mundane?) to see a “bigger picture” (whether that be of nature, the cosmos, family, community, the world…) is a healthy thing, a genuinely good thing. I would guess it is or at least could be for a majority of people.

Secular rituals are hard to come by, and that is some of the appeal of religion, I imagine. I approach my daily stroll around our yard, camera in hand, a bit of a ritualistically. But I certainly wouldn’t prescribe it for everyone. Or insist that your life is hell or will end in hell if you don’t do as I do.

If Sunday is a good day for something, as a serious non-theist I wouldn’t call it “reverence.” That word has too much old-time “thou art subordinate” connotations.

Is it instead a good day for shedding some of our egocentrism?

Technorati Links: nature, philosophy

From the days of traveling by burro or horse, we certainly have come a long way. Thanks to technological advances and engineering wonders, our lives are easier, safer, and more comfortable.

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Technorati Links: culture, science

In another blow to the Genesis myth scientists have recently discovered that the Mineral Kingdom Has Co-evolved With Life.

Say what? Minerals evolve? The Earth wasn’t finished on the second day and then populated with animal life?

What ultimately had the biggest impact on mineral evolution, however, was the origin of life, approximately 4 billion years ago. “Of the approximately 4,300 known mineral species on Earth, perhaps two thirds of them are biologically mediated,” says Hazen. “This is principally a consequence of our oxygen-rich atmosphere, which is a product of photosynthesis by microscopic algae.” Many important minerals are oxidized weathering products, including ores of iron, copper and many other metals.

Cool. You learn something new every day. Well, if you’re looking to, anyway.

I do question, however, the use of the word “species” for mineral types. As I wonder whether we can say they evolved vs. developed. Nonetheless, a very interesting finding.

And third, both in the field and in the laboratory, studies of chimpanzee behavior are producing numerous, increasingly clear parallels with human behavior. It’s not just that these apes pat each other on the hand to show affection, or kiss each other, or embrace. Not just that they have menopause, develop lifelong friendships, and grieve for their dead babies by carrying them for days or weeks. Nor is it their ability to do sums like 5 plus 4, or to communicate with hand signs. Nor their tool use, or collaboration, or bartering for sexual favors. Nor even that they hold long-term grudges, deliberately hide their feelings, or bring rivals together to force them to make peace.
- Wrangham, R. & Peterson, D. (1)

A fundamental thrust of my undertaking is that of comparative psychology: to understand more about the human species by studying other animals, particularly the great apes. But is it a justified approach?

The Hebrew word “Adam” means mankind. When we compare the behavior of Adams to that of other primates are we committing the sin of comparing apples to oranges? To a degree—of course. But to another, greater degree the comparison is fitting.

Most of us have learned that there is a considerable degree of genetic similarity between primate species. In fact, human beings are more genetically similar to the chimpanzee than the chimpanzee is to the gorilla. But what about behavior? Genes are one thing, but are we really like other monkeys and apes?

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Technorati Links: chimpanzees, evolution, primates

Is it a stupid simplification to say that liberals want to take us someplace different, while conservatives want to stay put or even go back?

The new Carnival of the Liberals is up here.

Technorati Links: nature photos, politics

It seems to me (at least at this point in time) that most poetry takes aim at exciting the human limbic system: that part of our triune brain responsible for the generation and perception of the social emotions: anger, love, jealousy, sadness.  But then there is “higher” art that shoots for the more elusive target of the neocortex.  When struck we feel wonder, curiosity, awe: our imagination as much as our emotion is aroused (if, in fact, they can be completely teased apart).

That is what happened to me this morning when reading this bit of . . . science (!):

Take a gold sample the size of the head of a push pin, shoot a laser through it, and suddenly more than 100 billion particles of anti-matter appear. The anti-matter, also known as positrons, shoots out of the target in a cone-shaped plasma “jet.”

Okay, that snippet of a research finding may not appeal to the large crowd whose artistic taste extends to pulling a daisy apart and muttering, “She loves me, she loves me not.”  But it’s their loss.  For me: Wow!

Technorati Links: biology, physics, psychology

Just as primates can communicate threat with their gaze, so can they reassure and invite.  Frans de Waal writes,

“Another point in common with the chimpanzee is the critical role of eye contact. Among apes it is a prerequisite for reconciliation. It is as if chimpanzees do not trust the other’s intentions without a look into the eyes. In the same way, we do not consider a conflict settled with people who turn their eyes to the ceiling or to the floor each time we look in their direction.” (9)

While a hostile, penetrating stare can signal being held at a visual arm’s length by the viewer, a “warmer” variety of visual attention will signal the equivalent of an arm outstretched in acceptance.  The authors of one study on the power of visual attention, “Explaining Effects of Eye Gaze on Mediated Group Conversations: Amount or Synchronization?” report,

“[S]ubjects took less turns when the amount of gaze was below normal.”  (10)

More specifically,

“[P]eople are significantly more likely to speak when gaze behavior of conversational partners is synchronized through time with their conversational attention.”  (11)

Yes, whether or not you are consciously aware of it, the likelihood of your speaking is influenced by the gaze of your intended audience.  “Speaking up” is just one type of many behaviors I am sure can be encouraged or attenuated by visual attention, real or imagined.

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me-a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10)

—

 (9) de Waal, F. Peacemaking Among Primates, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1989, p.43 
(10) Vertegaal, R. & Ding, Y., “Explaining Effects of Eye Gaze on Mediated Group Conversations: Amount or Synchronization?” Proceedings of CSCW 2002 Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Work, New Orleans: ACM Press, November, 2002,
p. 42
(11) Vertegaal, R. & Ding, Y., 2002, p. 47

Technorati Links: evolution, primates, psychology