Many scientists agree that we are a neotenous species. Neoteny implies a prolonged retention of immature characteristics into adulthood and beyond.
Our neoteny is most evident in our canine teeth, our body hair, our shoulder muscles and our jaws, all of which have remained undeveloped in comparison to those of our ape cousins. Our children's bones are more cartilaginous than are those of young apes. We have shorter arms and toes, thinner skull bones and smaller teeth than apes. Our molars take longer to appear than those of other primates and whereas we are generally either right or left handed, great apes are mostly ambidextrous.
We also have less developed and less efficient natural defences than other primates. In fact, before we discovered hygiene, healthier nutrition, immunisation or prevention of diseases, our average lifespan was lower than that of the great apes. Some viruses that are harmful or deadly to us are kept at bay by the more efficient immune systems of other primates.
The human childbirth cycle is another area where our under development is apparent. Despite a much longer gestation period than that of other primates, we produce far frailer, less self-sufficient and less developed infants. Our ape cousins reach adulthood far more quickly than we do. We have the longest infancy among primates and, as adults; we look more like infant chimpanzees than adult ones.
Significant proof that we are a poorly developed species can be found in our pretensions, and our constant desire for more. Most young creatures are attracted to excess, however man tends to retain this attraction and is excited by it throughout his life.
Man's neoteny is a frustrating and irritating state of existence. Since irritation is the main cause of growth it must have been the excessive irritation caused by man's neoteny that provided the exceptional growth of man's new cortex, and particularly of the prefrontal cortex, that makes our skull appear so different to those of the other apes.
This exceptional growth of the prefrontal cortex would have placed the neurones of this part of the brain, where a great deal of our mental activity takes place, in a state of uncertainty. In its uncertainty, man's prefrontal cortex became more autonomous, more independent in its activity and more dissociated from the rest of the brain and the body. In fact, the more uncertain or confused our prefrontal cortex becomes, the more independently it acts. In some diseases or under the influence of certain drugs or alcohol, which produce extreme confusion and uncertainty, our prefrontal cortex can become exceedingly irrational.
It is even possible that, as the prefrontal cortex consists mainly of water, its uncertainty increases during a full moon!
The prefrontal cortex's uncertainty, confusion and autonomy can be at its most intense during adolescence, especially in boys, when irrationality, adventurousness and risk-taking are at a peak. The excitement of the teenage mentality is very appealing and many people never grow out of it.
Our upright posture could be another contributing factor in the prefrontal cortex's uncertainty and confusion.
Some writers explain our upright posture as the result of the need to free the hands to use tools and weapons. However, I believe that man did not begin to use weapons until long after he had been standing upright, and that for a long time after he adopted his new posture man continued to be only a food-gatherer. Tools, such as they were at the beginning of man's bipedalism, were used with equal dexterity by apes, which did not become bipedal. Thus, handling tools and weapons are not good enough reasons for man to continue to stand upright and walk on two feet, both of which are not an efficient use of energy and are tiring.
Other writers suggest that man became upright because, from this new posture, he could spot his prey more easily. My answer to this is that it is more in keeping with natural logic that a highly vulnerable creature like man, with no offensive or defensive weapons, and lacking the speed of other animals, would have been much more worried about being seen by his predators than intent on spotting his prey.
However, since the phases of man's gradual bipedalism coincided with the gradual increase in the size of his brain, it is my contention that the erect posture of humans was due to the extra weight in the head, and thus was not man's choice, but was forced on him.
Darwin was very close to agreeing with this explanation of the erect posture when he wrote in 'The Descent of Man,' "The gradually increasing weight of the brain and skull in man must have influenced the development of the supporting spinal column, more especially whilst he was becoming erect." He also adds, "In young persons whose heads have become fixed, either sideways or backwards, owing to disease, one of the two eyes has changed its position and the shape of the skull has been altered apparently by the pressure of the brain, in a new direction".
Scientists say that when a baby stops crawling and begins trying to stand up and walk on two feet, he is being urged on by an instinct for bipedalism. However, if bipedalism were an instinct or an innate posture, then the human infant would not take so long to walk upright. In the animal world, the infant assumes the natural posture of its species a few days after its birth, and in some cases, after only a few hours.
Equally, if bipedalism were an innate position for man, then humans would not find it so tiring to stand for long periods. Many other animals relax, rest, and even sleep standing up. Since it inflicts extra fatigue, discomfort and new illnesses, such as curvature of the spine, kidney troubles, back pains and varicose veins, it seems conclusive that an upright posture was forced on humans.
The change of gravity of this upright position also brought with it changes in the circulation of the blood. In the new body position, the flow of blood to the brain became more laborious.
The sensitivity of the human brain to changes in blood supply can be deduced by the fact that even as light reduction in this supply, caused by drugs, malnutrition, or changes in the quality of air or rhythm of breathing, can cause a reduction in the brain's lucidity.
Disclaimer - Copyright - Contact
Online: buildfreedom.org - terrorcrat.com - mind-trek.com