If Darwin was correct

[Ari Rahikkala]

I have a toolbox containing a bunch of tools. I only use one or at most a couple of them at a time, though, because using more would be pretty damn hard to coordinate. Therefore those tools that I'm not using right now are useless and could just as well be thrown away .

[techumseh]

Xin Yu, it's more like "grasping at straws"!

[Kontiki]

How does creation come into this at all? If you buy that we only use 10% of our brains, then why is it logical to assume a creator made us to only use a fraction of what we have?

[St Leo]

Re: If Darwin was correct

Originally posted by Xin Yu
If Darwin's evolution theory was correct, then we should have already used the full potential of our brains and bodies.

Please explain the reproductive advantage in that, as opposed to the required increase in energy consumption.

[Boris Godunov]

Yeah, I don't even understand the premise that, if it were true we only used 10% of our brains, that it would somehow refute evolution. On the contrary, such a thing would be more in favor of evolution than creation, as I see it.

Regardless of that, the human body is full of suboptimal systems that are evidence of evolutionary juryrigging, as well as superfluous organs and bits. Who needs a tailbone, anyway?

[Mercator]

OMG!!1! We have an appendix! Darwin was wrong!

And there's at least one advantage I can see to having a larger brain than necessary, so to speak: redundancy.

If someone would suffer head trauma and lose part of the functionality of his brain, someone with a brain with more redundancy will be more likely to survive because other parts of the brain can take over.

Even if we only use 10% of our brain, I can't see any clear disadvantage to that either, so there's so reason why evolution would weed out the superfluous bits. And maybe we actually already are evolving to use more of our brain.

[La Fayette]

hello!

XinYu,
Let me say "hello".
I almost never browse the OT forum, and what do I see?
Threadstarter: Xin Yu!
IMO you are a living example of the fact that the 10% theory is wrong (since you used more than 10% when playing civ2 ).
Can we expect to read a post from you on the strategy forum once in a while?

[RGBVideo]

Welcome back Xin Yu!

I haven't seen any of your posts in OT yet, but your civ2-skills are legendary ... heck, I remember even reading about them back when I was hanging out at CFC.

[Nostromo]

Yeah, I don't even understand the premise that, if it were true we only used 10% of our brains, that it would somehow refute evolution. On the contrary, such a thing would be more in favor of evolution than creation, as I see it.

What Boris said.

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by Kontiki
How does creation come into this at all? If you buy that we only use 10% of our brains, then why is it logical to assume a creator made us to only use a fraction of what we have?

It's well-known that Creators are too stupid to construct optimal systems.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Xin Yu
Like to see an article with a similar title to Mordoch's, but with 'evolution' replacing '10% mind'. There must be a bunch of such articles, right?

No. Because you're assuming that there is a generally-accepted theory that we use X% of our mind. I'd really like to know which scientific journal you got that one from...

[Xin Yu]

St Leo! La Fayette! Mecator! Howdy guys!

I worked in Seattle from end of 1999 to end of 2004, under two Chinese bosses. If you are a Chinese, let me tell you , never work under another Chinese! I was in the process of getting my greencard (still am) so I could not leave. It was really tragic. At first I worked very hard and handled 5 out of 7 total projects, but at the year end they told me that they needed to give bonus to 'low-paid' employees to retain them, so my share had to be smaller. I said ok, but from then on I only did my share of work and that pissed them off. They gave me 'ME (meet expectation)' at first then gradually downwards to 'ME minus'. The reason for the downdrading was that I did not come in before 9am everyday (other people came later than me but they never had any problems). They talked to me like this: 'I have never seen a Chinese as lazy as you!' Hehe, they did not know that I invented lazyciv

Anyway, the group was eliminated by the company and I was relocated to CA. So now I'm enjoying an easy life. Still waiting for the green card but I can change job any time I want. I swear never ever work under another Chinese boss again.

Gave up civ long time ago. Been playing Everquest for about 2 years now. The drawback for civ games are that they take too long to get to the interesting part. A game should not take more than a day to finish (like playing chess). I was hoping that civ3 would be better but it was worse. It eliminated RR's infinite movement, and once you enter enemy territory your move is as slow as a turtle. If I designed the game I would eliminate step-by-step moving of pieces. You can order a troop to move to a place, or search an area, etc., then forget it. Troops will report back once in position.

As for the evolution theory, that's a long story. I believe that we were created because human behavior is quite unique. For example, we cook (pre-process) food before eat. We worship divine beings. These are not required for us to survive yet we do them while no other species do.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Xin Yu
Perhaps you did not get my question. I mean, if we only evolute in responding to environment, then we should not have such a huge brain with 90% of it almost never used.

It's a popular fact that 90% of the brain is not used and, like most popular facts, it is wrong. Not even the most stupid Creator would go to the trouble of making the human head carry around several pounds of unnecessary grey goo if its only real purpose was, eg, to serve as a delicacy for certain remote tribesmen in unexplored valleys, it is used. One of its functions is to make the miraculous seem ordinary, and turn the unusual into the usual. Otherwise, human beings, forced with the daily wondrousness of everything, would go around wearing a stupid grin, saying "WOW" a lot. Part of the brain exists to stop this happening. It is very efficient, and can make people experience boredom in the middle of marvels

[GePap]

Originally posted by Xin Yu

As for the evolution theory, that's a long story. I believe that we were created because human behavior is quite unique. For example, we cook (pre-process) food before eat. We worship divine beings. These are not required for us to survive yet we do them while no other species do.

Behavior such as those you describe are cultural, NOT behaviors derived from our biology. They have nothing to do with evolution, lots to do with learned behavior. Cooking wise thought, it does help somewhat in survival, as it makes digestion a bit easier, and allows us to eat things that otherwise we could not eat raw.

[Odin]

That 10% thing is is a myth, we use all our brains. So many people believe this BS it's sickening.