“The development of our intellectual abilities and the optimization of thousands of intelligence genes probably occurred in relatively non-verbal, dispersed groups of peoples before our ancestors emerged from Africa,” says the papers’ author, Dr. Gerald Crabtree, of Stanford University. In this environment, intelligence was critical for survival, and there was likely to be immense selective pressure acting on the genes required for intellectual development, leading to a peak in human intelligence.
From that point, it’s likely that we began to slowly lose ground. With the development of agriculture, came urbanization, which may have weakened the power of selection to weed out mutations leading to intellectual disabilities.
Now its a good point about mental disabilities. Just like people with physical disabilities, people with mental disabilities wouldn’t survive long in our hunter-gatherer times. Still another bigger question is “What is Intelligence”? People seem to immediately define intelligence to things our species hold dear. Visual and conceptual problem solving, or tool building. And in those things we’re pretty good. Still let’s look at this funny video for a wider insight:
A chimp is a essentially a human that needs to be institutionalized, if they were to be released in our society unfettered it would be downright dangerous. Still its interesting to think of what other animals can do. Some are simple mental processing from organs we don’t have, like sharks seeing the electrical signals of prey animals, or vipers seeing the heat signatures of their prey. Then there are things that we more-or-less have the same hardware, but not the software to handle it, like bats or whales and dolphins hunting and navigating by sound, or the countless animals that mostly perceive the world by smell over all other sensory inputs.
Sure we have TOOLS that can do all of those things, but its not like I could suddenly work the sonar array of a Los Angeles Class Submarine without extensive training, yet bats and Dolphins do it as soon as they’re old enough to go out on their own.
Overall if the Human population is continuing to grow, its all a result of “Intelligence”, given that humans aren’t surviving for our strength, speed, or our fangs or claws.
h/t Mrs. Weer’d
A Westchester soccer coach who works with the New York Red Bulls was killed in a grisly stabbing in the West Village early today that left his severed ear in a pool of blood on a 14th Street sidewalk.
Michael Jones, 25, of West Harrison was found on 14th Street near 5th Avenue about 4:25 a.m. with multiple stab wounds to the head, neck and chest, cops said.
Good thing New York has such strict gun control laws! Somebody might have been hurt!
You never read this in any wilderness survival manuals, but I suspect it could save some lives.
If you’re ever trapped in nature and need food, simply set a set of earbud headphones on the ground, and let it set for a few hours.
Judging by how much these sum-bitches are snarled up after 10 seconds in my pocket, or from just setting them on the counter, I suspect you can snare anything from squirrels to elk!
It might save your life!
Not feeling the muse today, so here’s some videos to watch:
enjoy
More Domestic Violence that “Domestic Violence Activist” Joan Peterson won’t care about!
Jurors needed barely two hours to reject a 54-year-old man’s contention that he was acting in self-defense when he fatally stabbed his wife more than 65 times a year ago at their Brooklyn Park home, at one point coming at her from behind and slitting her throat.
Joan’s solution to domestic violence? BAN GUNS!
She’s not crazy at all! NOPE!
h/t Maddmedic
Just thought I’d butt two stories together. First Legalizing Marijuana in Washington:
The Washington state measure includes a 25% tax imposed when the grower sells marijuana to a processor, again when the processor sells it to a retailer, and a third time when the retailer sells it to a customer.
Supporters estimated it would raise as much as $500 million for the state — a figure analysts say is overstated.
“Overstated”? Why would they think that? Oh yeah!
John Chambers, head investigator for the Illinois Department of Revenue, says cigarette smuggling now rivals illegal drug smuggling, and street gangs are getting involved.
“Keep in mind this is very similar to drug activity, smuggling drugs, and there could be concealed compartments, false floors in the bed of a truck, much like drugs, all packed with cigarettes,” Chambers said.
With Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois taxes all included, smokers now pay $4.66 a pack in taxes in Chicago. That’s the second-highest cigarette tax in the nation, trailing only New York City at $5.85. People looking to make quick cash don’t need to travel far to buy cheap cigarettes. Indiana’s tax is just $0.995 a pack, and Missouri’s tax is the lowest in the country at just $0.17. Chambers says cigarette smuggling is now as lucrative as drug smuggling, with much lower penalties.
Right now recreational marijuana is a total loss to the public coffers. The sale isn’t taxed, and further tax monies are used to arrest, prosecute, and punish people engaged in the trade. The obvious solution is legalize it and tax it…PROFIT!
Only when you pile the taxes to the skies, while the illegal pipeline still exists, people will just keep buying form the black market. You have a golden goose there, but you’re just slaughtering it, and rather than golden eggs, you’re getting goose meat.
Good Job guys!
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, renewable fuel producers in Iowa have asked the Obama administration to allow higher amounts of ethanol to be blended in gasoline in the Northeast.
In a letter yesterday to President Obama, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said temporarily allowing up to 20 percent ethanol in gasoline would help lower gas prices for victims of the superstorm. The association urged the administration to waive requirements that gasoline retailers must comply with before selling the higher blends of ethanol.
I think I’ve told the story before, but I’d done the walk of shame before. OK not the walking home from a hookup’s apartment at 5am before she wakes up, but the one with a jerry can in hand to a stalled vehicle with a dry fuel tank. Why? Well I’ll start by saying my 2001 Ford Ranger had a fuel gauge that never worked right. Everything else worked like a Swiss watch, so if I just watched my mileage the little arrow could sit on the “E” for damn near 100 miles before I had to fill up with no ill effects. I generally would fill my ride when I had about 2 gallons left in the hopper.
Then I moved from Maine to Massachusetts, and I ran out of gas! Why? Well Massachusetts mandates 10% Ethanol in all pump gas. My Mileage tanked, and my fuel line ran dry. Thankfully I was only about 200 yards from a gas station I drove right past because their prices were horrible, and there was a cheaper station just up the road a few miles which I would have gotten to with go-juice to spare…had I been running on the good stuff.
Why did this happen? Well #1 I hadn’t learned to look for that “Contains Ethanol” sticker on the pumps, and the big #2, Garbage Gas costs the same as good gas. Actually the Ethanol blends cost MORE, but they skim a good bit of that price right out of my taxes, weather I drive or not.
Love this stupid ideology that somehow this crap is “Better”. It isn’t better gas, as my truck went from getting north of 20mpg to around 17mpg. It isn’t as good for your engine. It isn’t cheaper. As a lighter fuel it probably does burn a bit cleaner…but when the “Progressives” are fixated on Carbon Dioxide, and carbon bonds are carbon bonds. Moving a pickup truck 300 miles on single-bonded carbon chains will release the same amount of CO2 if its Gasoline, Ethanol, Kerosine, or propane.
Just you pay more, both in taxes, and in fill-ups (further more that taxes are per-gallon, and if it takes more juice to go the same distance you’re paying a LOT more), I’m sure the people in the storm-ravaged areas are really pleased with this!
Police Force gets cut. What happens?
A Detroit suburb that was forced to lay off half its police department has seen a spike in violent crime, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.
Since July, when the police force was cut in half, there have been 10 murders in Inkster, a Detroit suburb with a population of about 25,000. There have been 12 murders so far this year.
Violent criminals fear the police. They fear armed citizens more. REFUSE to be a victim, and be safe out there!
Carry your damn guns!
