the Atlantic Wire
According to a new report in Discover Magazine, the human brain, which has expanded for most of our biological history, has begun to shrink. Kathleen McAuliffe writes that, according to new research, “Over the past 20,000 years, the average volume of the human male brain has decreased from 1,500 cubic centimeters to 1,350 cc, losing a chunk the size of a tennis ball. The female brain has shrunk by about the same proportion.” And that shrinking appears to still be happening on an evolutionary scale.
Found by Cinàedh.
THe host of this site, John Dvorak has proposed that much education is pointless, you should just teach kids to use the internet and calculators.
The brain needs exercise, just like the body.
It is quite obvious that the LCD is becoming dumber and self-destructive by the day. Western civilization is doomed.
#1 Are you for real?
#5 There’s a little misconception therein your statement. The rednecks are the known dumbasses. The new “liberals” comprised of PC assholes like those practicing revisionism on Mark Twain’s books are the new wave of idiots.
Like #6. That dumbbo.
#14 Great sarcasm. Maybe we should declare people suffering from neuronal migration disorders or dementia the brightest people on earth. Fodder for the blog’s PC crowd to chew on
#19 Spot on.
It’s not the size that matters, it’s how you use it!
Just look at who’s having the most children. What does that tell you?
Well on our way to becoming Eloi.
don’t use it, you lose it.
Go into Wal-Mart sometime and take a close look at the gene pool in there..
Need more data, but yes… I believe it’s possible that people’s brains are shrinking. =D
I hope most of these comments are meant to be sarcastic, otherwise I have grave concerns.
While the average brain size of humans is getting smaller, that does not preclude a segment of the species having and increase in brain size.
Eventually the species will split in two. The majority will be the helots and the other species will in effect be the New Spartans.
In the autumn the Crypteia will return.
#25, framecrash How many people have actually read “The Time Machine?” (On an iPad is acceptable…)
“I am not a witch”
Moores law baby. Smaller faster and better.
I would not be surprised if this were true, though brain size alone does not prove intelligence. With natural selection taken out of the equation such as we have done with “modern society” there no longer is survival of the fittest in humans. As consequence weak and inferior genes are allowed to propagate throughout the species.
I seriously doubt natural selection has actually been circumvented, but even if it has, I doubt its been so long enough to have put a significant dent into the gene pool.
I also doubt we have a sufficient understanding of the brain to understand the significance of of changing brain geometry. Especially brain geometry common in humans 20K years ago; where da maps?!
Well we really only need 10% of our brains, anyway. Nature is just down-sizing. Maybe Neanderthal Man needed all that extra brain space just to figure out how to survive. They didn’t have self-help books and the internet. Early man had to invent EVERYTHING!! The wheel, fire, clothing, weapons, murder, farming, taxes. And of course, the biggie, religion.
Now that it’s all been done, we don’t need that brain capacity to make life anymore complicated. We need less, to uncomplicate it.
BTW, what the hell does “And that shrinking appears to still be happening on an evolutionary scale”, even mean?! What’s an “evolutionary scale”? The first I’ve ever heard of it. Sounds like a writer’s trick to get some grant money, for promoting Darwinism. Ya know, dogs didn’t evolve into Great Dames and Chihuahuas. They were bred that way, by man.
So maybe we bred ourselves with smaller heads and brains. Who wants their kids to look like that Megamind animation character? Mayans use to put large stones on their offspring’s foreheads, to deform their skulls. Apparently it was thought to show them to be more regal, or something. Probably one king’s son was born that way. So everybody had to have their kids’ heads so deformed. And you wonder why our brains have been downsizing? Maybe we don’t deserve having as big a brain, as we once had. God figures we won’t miss it.
I don’t know about this starting 20,000 years ago. But ever since “Seinfeld”, I’d say yes, mankind has gotten dumber. Look at what we now accept as an evening’s Tv entertainment. Gone are practically anything that has a complex or sophisticated plot. I doubt we’ll ever see another series like “LOST”, ever again. It’s all reality shows, and Jersey Shore. Who needs 13000 CCs of brain matter to watch any of that?! In fact too much brains has probably become a liability in today’s society. You question too much. And you tend to not fall for every advertised scam. How will the world economy survive, if everyone refused to be taken? About 50% of all goods and services seem to be bogus, or of low quality. You know, Walmart brands.
Sure explains how Obama got elected….
There are differences in brain size between people of different races and even between males and females AFTER differences in body size are taken into account. How is this data of any use to anyone when people vary so much? What’s the point?
I’ve read that housecats have smaller brains than their African wildcat forebears did because their senses are not as important as they once were.
You people are NOT ready for this website:
http://heretical.org
#38 Let me fix that for ya:
That explains why Dumbya & Obama got elected. Although one could argue that choosing between Dumbya & Gore was no selection at all. Lesser of two evils, I guess.