Posted on 12/07/2011 8:37:47 AM PST by decimon
Human minds have hit an evolutionary "sweet spot" and - unlike computers - cannot continually get smarter without trade-offs elsewhere, according to research by the University of Warwick.
Researchers asked the question why we are not more intelligent than we are given the adaptive evolutionary process. Their conclusions show that you can have too much of a good thing when it comes to mental performance.
The evidence suggests that for every gain in cognitive functions, for example better memory, increased attention or improved intelligence, there is a price to pay elsewhere - meaning a highly-evolved "supermind" is the stuff of science fiction.
University of Warwick psychology researcher Thomas Hills and Ralph Hertwig of the University of Basel looked at a range of studies, including research into the use of drugs like Ritalan which help with attention, studies of people with autism as well as a study of the Ashkenazi Jewish population.
For instance, among individuals with enhanced cognitive abilities- such as savants, people with photographic memories, and even genetically segregated populations of individuals with above average IQ, these individuals often suffer from related disorders, such as autism, debilitating synaesthesia and neural disorders linked with enhanced brain growth.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
Bummer, man.
i think so much of what we do is controlled in the ‘background’ processign of the brain.
For example every single nerve has to be monitored all the time- if you get a pin prick on your arm you feel it- it pops up to the top of the processing stack.
I have also noticed that when you are workign on a computer, you find and click on thisn much slower than someone looking over your shoulder can find them- this indicates to me that your brain is multi-tasking many more things than someone who is just watching, and must time-share between them.
Just my theory- based on 20 years of observations
Why people despise kibitzers.
So the question comes one of correlation -- are the conditions that make one a savant the cause of things like autism, or is it the other way around? (Or are there additional factors that simply correlate the two?)
ah yes! my dear departed friend abe normal!
;’)
Yes, I think it's possible that both his mental and physical abilities have been affected by bad blow. The white powdery bad blow.
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