What are the current theories re: the evolution of the human brain.

do we use all of its capacity?
if not why has evolution given us this added capacity which is not used?

does evolution think ahead?

Any views eagerly awaited.


If you want to get to the top of a hill (and your very fit), the Grand Old Duke of York is your man. y

"does evolution think ahead?"
No. Evolution proceeds towards local minima. That's why some features of organisms can be non-optimal.

In artificial systems, there are ways of ameliorating these effects. I'm don't know whether there's a biological equivalent to something like simulated annealing. (Although it's possible that some hormones might serve that kind of purpose.)

In any case, even if it's true, it's just a way of reducing the effects of not being able to see ahead.

WHoa, Whoa, ney Whoa!!!!
thasorus alert, i'm only 7 years old.

Please note i am not a scientist, just an interested medler, assume my scientific vocabulary is minimal.

Evolution does not think ahead. It doesn't have anyway of looking ahead.

At any given moment in time a collection of organisms (a species) exists in an environment, of which that species itself is a part. Those organisms will eventually produce far more offspring than the environment can possibly support. Example: you can't support 10 elephants on one acre of land.

So, this population is subject to selective pressure. Not everybody can live long enough to reproduce the next generation. But there's another fact. Whenever organisms reproduce - make babies - there are errors in the copying process.
Most of the time these errors are detrimental. Sometimes they even prevent the organism from being born. But some very few times, they give that particular organism a strong advantage compared to the others. For example, it might make him bigger. This might be bad for him, if he can't get enough food. Or it might be good for him if it makes him able to steal food from the others.

The "best" qualified do not always survive. Sometimes the weaklings live. The process is not perfect. But, on average, the creature that is best adapted will have a better chance to live long enough to himself reproduce.

The process doesn't work on what will happen, but only at what is. Example, it could be that being 1/4 inch taller is a disadvantage in a given environment because it requires you to eat more, but doesn't give you the ability to get more food. However, maybe if you were 3/4 of an inch taller it would be worth it, because then you'd have an even bigger requirement, BUT you'd also be able to get the food you need (improved hunting, or improved stealing, etc). But the organism won't get to the 3/4" (unless it does so on a single jump) or unless there's some other advantage to get it past the problems of being only 1/4" taller.

"does evolution think ahead"
Y,
I think you would enjoy a book called 'does anything eat wasps?' It's a collection of 101 interesting Q&As from the 'NewScientist' magazine.
"if not why has evolution given us this added capacity which is not used?"
Some say it IS used, in times of mortal danger etc... However, there is no proof. It makes sense though.
I suppose if intelligent people keep breeding with eachother, the end product would be a human with a brain with the capacity to do a lot. However, the surroundings of the human may not require them to use it, and so, they live and die without ever knowing of this potential, or using it.

P.S. I remember reading somewhere that it is actually BAD if an organism evolves a brain more advanced than is needed. I can't remember exactly why, but I think it was someting to do with having to provide more nutrients for it, even though it's not using it.