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comment by mk
mk  ·  4318 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why are humans stupid?

I'm not sure I understand his hypothesis.

    So we only need to be smart enough to understand and use the cognitive tools created by our most intelligent outliers.

Language also lets us simplify things into symbols, and then operate upon them more efficiently. Not only can you teach me to better peel a banana, but in doing so, you might have helped me solve another problem I've been having, like skinning rabbits or something. I see language as a multiplier of knowledge.





Hein  ·  4316 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yes, you can learn a lot and become more efficient but does that make you more intelligent? Where are natural selection's pressures to evolve more brain tissue? Is learning through the means of language a short-cut for gaining knowledge in stead of the evolution of intelligence? I believe that since the discovery of language human intelligence/stupidity hasn't changed at all.

b_b  ·  4318 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yes, analogy is one of our most powerful tools.