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'."

Re:*Tnok* *Squee!*

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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

I contemplated your post for a day before deciding to respond. I've had this idea for a while now that individual humans are not the functional unit anymore. It's become society vs society. As long as the individual is contributing to society in some way, he/she is accepted. Geeks and Nerds contribute directly through innovation. Less capable people contribute indirectly through their offspring, on the chance that some of them may in turn become Geeks or Nerds.

Think of a colony of ants. There is only one "queen" whose sole task is to lay eggs. Nobody else is capable of reproduction, but the workers keep the colony alive. Thus individuals die out without reproducing but the colony survives. Of course ants are an extreme example with only one reproducer per colony. Make that a few reproducers per society and pit societies against each other. You've now got humans in the present day.

Maybe that's why it hardly raises eyebrows these days when someone decides not to have kids. In my grandparents' time, it was considered unthinkable (evil, deviant, freakish...). Think of it in a slightly different light, and you now get the reason why homosexuality is considered perfectly normal. The fitness function has become "what do you contribute to society", not "what do you do to ensure the survival of your genes".