How important is the human brain as an explanation of natural selection?

Question

Darwin's theory of natural selection:
- no two members of the same species are identical
- unique characteristics from the parents are passed on to the offspring

Answer 1

Monte Carlo distribution is like throwing seeds to the wind and they stick and grow in places but not in others because of the places not the seeds. Humans don't multiply by the thousands like seeds in a tree. Their young are weak and need time to nurture. They have little ingrained behavior, our basic instincts seem to disappear very early. Beneficial features are passed on rarely (again, how many children) so non-beneficial circumstances can eliminate positive benefits as easily as beneficial circumstances can permit faulty transmission to flourish.

In humans, nature is selecting by accident. An interesting thing is in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 9:11, "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all." That is the natural selection I see in the world about us in regard to humans.

Answer 2

I'm not quite sure I understand the question.

If you're asking how important the human brain is to our success as a species versus others, the answer is "very." The most valuable attribute is arguably language, which enables us to call out "Watch out for that lion!", warn "Don't eat those berries," to explain "This is how you catch a fish."

If you are asking how individual intelligence factors in to natural selection, the answer there is probably more so at one time, less so now. We have developed many defenses against forces that used to pick off the weak, and have also agreed that a society should take care of its less able members to some degree. And though there are those who die due to their own stupidity - hence the "Darwin Awards" - they are a tiny fraction of the population, who may have already reproduced and passed on their genes before blowing themselves up.

Diseases, both communicable and genetic, are more likely to affect a population, in terms of natural selection, as are malnutrition, infant mortality rates, and warfare.

Answer 3

It's important in the sense that you can show how natural selection worked in the evolution of the human brain.
Some of our distant ancestors had modifications that allowed them to do things better than those around them, like make tools. If these adaptations helped them survive, like if making tools allowed weapons for defense and hunting, the individuals with these adaptations would survive better than those without. If you survive, you pass on your genes and your offspring may have the same adaptation that allows them survival.
The human brain as a component of natural selection also factors in with brain size. Big brains mean big skulls, and big skulls mean difficult childbirth. What this means is that even though big brains meant more females dies giving birth, large brain size was still so important that it was selected for in spite of a raised mortality.

Answer 4

I don't believe the brain explains natural selection, but it is a direct result of natural selection. Big, quick brains provide the owner with an advantage over those with smaller, slower brains, so those who have them live longer and produce more offspring. Those offspring probably have slightly larger, faster brains than their peers, so they, too, live longer and have more offspring. In this way, the big-fast-brain trait (or the DNA that codes for it) spreads quickly through the population in which it developed.

Answer 5

Very important but in many different ways. I would also like to say that I disagree with some of Darwin's theories but I commend him for being so bold to suggest them. That's my natural selection.

I would also like to thank rabbit for the answer he gave... very interesting way of looking at it.

Answer 6

very important