Thick Skull a Survival Trait

Waffle Iron writes "This article at cnn.com reports: 'Scientists say the bulky craniums of the human ancestor, homo erectus, may have helped the species survive some aggressive mating rituals. After studying fossils in a region called Dragon Bone Hill in China, anthropologist Russell Ciochon of the University of Iowa concluded males of the species were clubbing one another over the head, probably to win females.' However, the geekier cavemen may have won out at the end. The article goes on to say: '...evolution eventually favored a lighter skull to accommodate a heavier and larger brain'."

Comments

Article in The Observer

[FePe]

Compare the article with this article, "Big heads really are smarter".

It seems like the smartest people in the world has a large head and wears glasses.

Re:*Tnok* *Squee!*

[metlin]

I know this is intended to be funny, but it makes me wonder.

Are we at a state where social skills are more important than intellectual skills? Often, the more intelligent ones are the ones with really poor social skills.

Just think about it - the Slashdot crowd is largely the cream (or atleast a significant part) of the intellectual populace.

And if this is the case, the *intelligent* ones are actually being beaten by the less capable ones. The more intellectual ones are the ones who are single.

And these are the ones who are capable of changing the world, who are capable of doing radical things, who can think outside the box. However, these very people are socially so inept.

Does this not fly in the face of Darwinism? Just wondering, as someone who had a bad breakup the day before Valentine's day :)