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Hobbits' Brains Shrank Due To Remote Home
Hugh Pickens writes "The 'hobbits,' dubbed homo floresiensis, caused a worldwide sensation when they were discovered five years ago, when some scientists claimed that the 18,000-year-old human-like fossils found on the Indonesian island of Flores represented an entirely new species. Now researchers at the Natural History Museum in London believe that the creatures' small brains could have developed to reduce the creatures' energy needs, crucial for surviving in an isolated area with limited resources. 'It could be that H. floresiensis' skull is that of a Homo erectus that has become dwarfed from living on an island, rather than being an abnormal individual or separately-evolved species, as has been suggested,' says palaeontologist Eleanor Weston. 'Looking at pygmy hippos in Madagascar, which possess exceptionally small brains for their size, suggests that the same could be true for H. floresiensis, and the result of being isolated on the island.' Although the phenomenon of dwarfism on islands is well recognized in large mammals, an accompanying reduction in brain size has never been clearly demonstrated before."
Does that explain Sarah Palin?
I have found this phenomenon localized in my community. It's called Wal-Mart.
Those who can do... Those who can't get a certification from Cisco or Microsoft.
Have you watched episodes of Big Brother or Survivor? Brains shrink in close quarters. I think it's not bunk.
over consumption of ale and pipeweed?
*DrugCheese rants*
Rather like the British then?
I'm not sure that inviting the public to come see Homos in 'Erectus Park' would get you the visitors you are looking for. ..
but we are attempting to reproduce via mitosis. We'll call it "human forking". It simplifies things.
Table-ized A.I.
No, the species living in wall mart tend to be much larger. It's the opposite phenomenon.
\u262D = \u5350
This makes a lot of sense. A large part of what appears to have encouraged the increase in reasoning ability of human beings has been our complex social interaction. On an island with a small population the social interaction would be simpler and thus less reasoning would be required.
A monkey can make a spear and hunt for food, it takes a human being to figure out that when your girlfriend is telling you about her problems she just wants to complain about it and doesn't actually want you to help create a solution.
...and that is all I have to say about that.
http://jessta.id.au
No, the species living in wall mart (sic)tend to be much larger. It's the opposite phenomenon.
The species that lives in Wal-Mart has an overly-large body with a severely undersized brain. Kinda like the Brontosaurus (or whatever they call that dinosaur these days).
Have you seen soccer moms driving SUVs? My theory is that, much like gold fish, these maternal females grow proportionally to the vehicles' cabin size.
But there is some phallic fascination with brain case size
Naw. Those researchers are just dickheads.
Right. Like they're totally going to notice.
Only three things are certain; death, taxes, and apocryphal quotations - Ben Franklin.
Shit. I'm trading in the Yukon for a Smart Car.
Mod my comments down. It'll be fun.