Popular portrayals of human evolution reveal subjective interpretations not adequately supported by the available evidence.
Human evolution
At Mind Matters News: Smoke and drink too much? Blame Neanderthal man!
Actually, in recent years, researchers have found evidence of a rich Neanderthal culture, belying the stereotypes we have incorporated into our culture. So when did human evolution actually take place?
At Reasons.org: Exploring the Mystical Connection between Math, Mind, and Nature
There’s more to understanding than acquiring knowledge.
At Science News: Why humans have more voice control than any other primates
“Human’s ability to talk may depend, in part, on our having lost a part of the larynx that dozens of other primate species have, new research suggests.”
At Mind Matters News: Human brain shape hardly changed in 160,000 years
The human brain reaches 95% of adult size at six years of age. Interestingly seven years of age is commonly held to be the “age of reason.”
At EurekAlert: Taking your time makes a difference – Brain development differs between Neanderthals and modern humans
Differences in Humans and Neanderthals: evolution or design?
At Mind Matters News: Fossil scientists ask, Could a Neanderthal meditate?
How much can we rely on casts from fossil skulls when the relationship between the mind and the brain is unclear even in currently living human beings?
At Mind Matters News: Why some life forms are smarter than others is still a mystery
Genetic engineering probably wouldn’t make humans smarter because, as biochemist Michael Denton notes in Miracle of Man, our brains seem to be optimally organized now. That would seem to support a design hypothesis.
At Mind Matters News: Our sense of smell may have declined in recent millennia but it is sharper than we think
When tested, human noses turned out be pretty sensitive -but humans also rely heavily on symbolic information to which other life forms do not have access.
Robert J. Marks on “machines with minds” vs. the real-life dweebs in his evolutionary programming:
A machine mind didn’t “just evolve” in this experiment; it was programmed in — even if its output was a surprise. The same is likely true of the human mind.
At Eurekalert: Connectivity of language areas unique in the human brain
“Neuroscientists have gained new insight into how our brain evolved into a language-ready brain. Compared to chimpanzee brains, the pattern of connections of language areas in our brain has expanded more than previously thought. “
Michael Egnor: Is consciousness the sort of thing that could have evolved?
Material processes cannot, for example, account for the power to grasp infinity or perfection — which are not material ideas.
At Live Science: Why can’t we drink saltwater?
Why did humans — and nearly all other land animals, for that matter —evolve to drink freshwater when saltwater is so much more plentiful?
At Sci-News: Early Humans were Present in Southeast Britain 620,000 Years Ago
Researchers: The archaeological site of Fordwich in northeast Kent, England, reveals the presence of Acheulean hominins — possibly Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis — in what is now southeast Britain between 620,000 and 560,000 years ago.
What would Catholic philosopher Thomas Aquinas say about Adam and Eve and paleontology?
Thomas Aquinas (1225– 1274) was instrumental in organizing Christian theology along Aristotelian lines. Here, a priest who is familiar with his thought, offers some comments.