Event overview
Lecture by Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa, London School of Economics and Political Science
Title: The Nature and Evolutionary Limitations of the Human Brain
Abstract:
As an organ adapted to its evolutionary environment, the human brain may have difficulty comprehending and dealing with entities and situations that did not exist in the ancestral environment. At the same time, an evolutionary psychological theory of the evolution of general intelligence proposes that general intelligence may have evolved as a domain-specific adaptation to solve evolutionarily novel problems. The logical conjunction of these two separate lines of research leads to the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis, which suggests that more intelligent individuals may be better able to comprehend and deal with evolutionarily novel entities and situations than less intelligent individuals, but general intelligence may have no effect on comprehending and dealing with evolutionarily familiar entities and situations. The Hypothesis can potentially explain: 1) why less intelligent individuals derive more satisfaction from watching TV than more intelligent individuals; 2) why less intelligent individuals have more children than more intelligent individuals, even though they don’t want to; 3) why more intelligent individuals live longer and stay healthier than less intelligent individuals; 4) why more intelligent individuals are more likely to be liberal and atheist; 5) why more intelligent men (but not more intelligent women) are more monogamous; 6) why more intelligent individuals prefer instrumental music more than less intelligent individuals, when general intelligence has no effect on the preference for vocal music; and 7) why more intelligent individuals are more likely to be nocturnal or homosexual.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 2008 | 4:00pm - 5:15pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
