Human brains unlikely to evolve into a 'supermind' as price to pay would be too high

University of Warwick ^ | December 7, 2011

[pabianice]

Anne Lloyd Francis (September 16, 1930 – January 2, 2011)

Bummer, man.

[Mr. K]

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

[freedomlover]

[decimon]

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.

Why people despise kibitzers.

[kevkrom]

What if autism, et. al., was "evolutionary"? Science fiction, indeed, has predicted the rise of "specialists" or "talents" who were unlike normal people, but highly specialized. And at the cost of "being human", at least as most folks see it.

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?)

[freedomlover]

[camle]

ah yes! my dear departed friend abe normal!

[SunkenCiv]

;’)

[ReagansShinyHair]

Given his mental handicap(s), it seems as if he’s been dealt a double bad blow.

Yes, I think it's possible that both his mental and physical abilities have been affected by bad blow. The white powdery bad blow.