Every so often, we devote space to a really dumb idea about how human beings came to be the way we are. Today’s is:
A team led by computer scientists at Cardiff University suggest that the challenge of judging a person’s relative standing and deciding whether or not to cooperate with them has promoted the rapid expansion of human brain size over the last 2 million years.
In a study published in Scientific Reports, the team, which also includes leading evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar from the University of Oxford, specifically found that evolution favors those who prefer to help out others who are at least as successful as themselves.More.
Reality check: And this did not work out so well for the buffalo because … ?
See also: Human origins: The war of trivial explanations