We got better compression algorithms, probably 😸
this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2026
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Maybe, we just don't know! One hypothesis for example claims the exact opposite, that we started living with more people so we could "outsource" some efforts to others.
it's hard for me to imagine tribes & clans dramatically gaining size ~100Kyrs ago to the extent that it would make such a dramatic, species-wide difference in brain size.
I would tend to guess the reasons were multifactorial, at least. Possibly environmental changes and interbreeding (there were five other humans back then IIRC) were factors.
Brain size has nothing to do with intelligence.
Elephants are not building datacentres.
Sounds like a better idea honestly.
Okay, fair, but elephants still die of tooth decay.
Okay, fair, but elephants still don't have secure access to food.
Okay, fair, but elephants can't protect themselves from rich poachers.
Okay, fair, ...
Sounds like elephants are more intelligent than many humans
i think the trend continues
Ever look around and wonder how a species so fucking stupid managed to take over the planet? We had a good run, time to hand our keys to the Dolphins.
Large brain does not necessarily equal more intelligence.
Thank you, Dr. Social Media Scientist.
We're clearly much more intelligent than those stupid hunter-gatherers who spent a tiny portion of their days doing needed work and the rest of the time having wild parties and daring each other to eat new plants and try sitting on the back of random animals to see which ones are sort of okay with it.
We have smart phones and a constant string of fight-or-flight triggers for things we can't actually do anything about every day.
Do you engage in all discussions by misrepresenting the other side and jumping immediately to mockery?
To mockery for sure. The minute I stop being able to look around myself and laugh at the thoughtless horrors and countless tribes who all believe they're righteous and welcoming yet all spit hate at anyone who doesn't chant their accepted manifesto I'll probably eat a shotgun.
That’s some pretty mean things to say about people you don’t know on the internet. By your own words you are the one spitting hate here. Doing that is probably not helping you either in the long run. I hope life gets better for you. Trust me, you’re not the only one having a shitty day/week/life.
The spitting hate was referring to the tribalist nonsense of seeing anyone who doesn't quote their specific manual on how to act, what words to use, and how to use those words as evil monsters. I'm always going to make fun of people who get upset about a joke they don't approve of. That could probably be called dismissive, but not hateful.
That was not the point I was trying to make. I think our intelligence is likely very similar to those of our Stone Age ancestors. If they were smarter I wouldn’t be surprised. What I was trying to say is that while there is some correlation with brain size and intelligence, you cannot determine intelligence on brain size alone. Men tend to have larger brains than women but similar cognitive abilities. Don’t put words in my mouth I didn’t say.
Right, sort of like how I never said that a smaller brain necessity correlates to less intelligence?
Interesting how you keep twisting my words to make me say things I didn’t say. What part of the word “necessarily” do you not understand? I’ve got bigger problems in my life right now. Go be a dick to someone who’s got time for your nonsense.
Large brain does not necessarily equal more intelligence.
You said that trying to refute a clear joke. You jumped in, on your own, trying to say I'm wrong about a joke and now you're accusing me of being a dick.
If you have bigger problems in life than this at the moment, you should probably be dealing with those. To make things easier, I'll add you to my block list so I can't see or reply to anything else from you.
Ah, I see. Schroedinger’s Asshole. When I call you out on being a dick you go “It’s just a joke, bro”. Have a nice life.
We are indeed stupid enough to post dumb comments on the internet like yourself.
But I wouldn't say humans in general are stupid.
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No thanks.
You should. Because then you might learn and understand why your comment is so stupid and gets downvoted. But I guess you want humans to stay stupid, starting with yourself.
Ahh, Lemmy. Where if you don't read and bow at the altar of the manifesto of each one of the little cults you're an awful monster.
Damn people in this sub are collapse-phobic? Why so many downvotes
There's a difference between acknowledging human population is collapse down to less than 20% its current size in the next century and possibly go extinct and saying we deserve to, we're stupid, and we should stop trying to make things better.
Well humans are overly susceptible to greed and selfishness despite strong evidence proving its self-destructiveness, as we can see. We should definitely keep trying to change the dominant culture because that’s all we got left, but OP does have a point, isall I’m saying.
People down vote because someone pointing out that they're mostly fairly stupid makes them sad.
You're just saying that because you're fat. And anything you try to say to convince me otherwise will be further proof that you are fat, because it's what I have decided. Checkmate!