evolution of intelligence
-
On the apparent rarity of human-like intelligence.
When we look around, we see such a small sliver of our planet’s total life.
ancient world, animal cognition, animal intelligence, archaeological evidence, archaeology, bird brains, birds, brain, brain construction, cognition, deep time, dinosaur, evolution, evolution of intelligence, evolutionary time, fossil evidence, fossils, human extinction, intelligence, lifespan of the sun, neuron counts, neuron numbers, non-human animal cognition, Oded Galor, rocks, stone age, stone tools, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, t-rex, The Journey of Humanity, The Origins of Wealth and Inequality, time as a twenty-four hour day, Tyrannosaurus rex -
On the ethics of eating.
It took violence and oppression to create our world … which we can recognize without perpetuating.
autotroph, carbon cycle, carbon uptake, chaos machines, diet, energy, ethics, ethics of eating, ethics of veganism, evolution, evolution of intelligence, evolution of life, evolution of neurons, food, food web, gene duplication, gratitude, heterotroph, human diet, legacy of oppression, legacy of violence, life, moral philosophy, oppression, origin of intelligence, origin of neurons, philosophy, plant competition, plants, prehistory of intelligence, prehistory of violence, the cost for us to be here, thermodynamics of life, trees, utilitarian, utilitarianism, vegan, veganism, vegetarian, why we can think -
On the evolution of skin color.
Over thousands of years, our ancestors evolved. Epidermal melanin protects us from the sun. Seems reasonable. But contemporary racism throws a wrench in the discussion.
African ancestry, ancestry, Asatru, biology of human evolution, books to prisoners, brain evolution, chance in evolution, chance in human evolution, Denisovan, Denisovans, diet in human evolution, domestication, edda, epidermal melanin, evolution, evolution of agriculture, evolution of brain size, evolution of epidermal melanin, evolution of great apes, evolution of human brain, evolution of human intelligence, evolution of intelligence, evolution of skin color, evolutionary advantage, evolutionary pressure, examples of evolution, explanation of human evolution, farming, folate hypothesis, history of human migration, history of human race, Homo sapiens, Homo sapiens evolution, how long does evolution take, Human ancestry, human body plan, human evolution, human migration, human race, human species, humanity, Icelandic, Icelandic mythology, Icelandic poetry, impact of agriculture on human evolution, incarceration, jail, latitude and skin color, learning, mass incarceration, melanin, Midwest Pages to Prisoners, Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project, migration, migration and evolution, mythology, Neanderthal, Neanderthals, neo-paganism, neopagan, neopaganism, neural plasticity, Norse mythology, Northern European ancestry, Northern European evolution, Odin, odinism, outdoor rec, paganism, Pages to Prisoners, pre-christian religion, prehistory of agriculture, prison, prison education, race, racial disparities in the criminal justice system, racial injustice, racism, racist police enforcement, racist policing, random factors in evolution, religion, skin color, skin color evolution, starfish evolution, stickleback evolution, sunlight, teaching evolution, The Edda, The Poetic Edda, The Prose Edda, UV damage, Viking myths, Viking religion, what does melanin do?, what does skin color do, white supremacists, white supremacy, why do people have different skin color, why skin color -
On octopus art.
We humans make art for humans, but octopuses might make art for others.
Andy Warhol, animal art, animal cognition, animal theory of mind, art, art criticism, art theory, audience, Baphomet, board games, do animals make art, elephant art, elephant painting, emotional intelligence, empathy, evolution of brains, evolution of cognition, evolution of intelligence, free will, function of art, gossip, how does consciousness work, narrative explanation, non-human animal cognition, non-human animals, octopus art, octopus brains, octopus literature, octopus theory of mind, poetry, purpose of art, Satan, The Optic Wraith, The Sri Lankan Loxodrome, theory of mind, timing of consciousness, what counts as art, what is art, what qualifies as art, why do we make art, why is art beautiful, Will Alexander



