Brain complexity: gene response to light stimuli (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 19:15 (2257 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: Until now, I have always understood your hypothesis to be that your God enlarged the brains of pre-sapiens BEFORE the hominins had their new concepts.

DAVID: I've not changed. New enlarged brain in a next step to sapiens can now conceive of new concepts and implementation may result in some shrinkage as in sapiens.

dhw: So how is my bolded statement above a complete misrepresentation? You are now saying yet again that the brain is enlarged BEFORE the hominin is able to conceive and implement his new concepts! (It may be true, but that is materialism, which you claim to reject.)

You are forgetting my contention that only an advanced complexity allows the s/s/c to form advanced concepts, hardware and software.

dhw: My argument has been that the enlargement came about through the implementation of new concepts, i.e. that all “modifications” (enlargement, complexification, shrinkage) are the RESULT of implementation.

DAVID: I can accept as modification a few new neurons. many new axons and connections and at times shrinkage. A mind filled with unfulfilled concepts cannot drive enlargement of brain and skull pan. Neurons are neurons, not a planning design committee.

dhw: 1) Why can you accept a few new neurons but not a lot of new neurons as “modification”?

Because that is how plasticity is described in the literature.

dhw: 2) Neurons are cells, and your last statement is indeed the essence of dualism: according to you it is NOT the material cells that do the planning. It is the immaterial self/soul/consciousness. Therefore additional cells will NOT enable the hominin to come up with new concepts.

Again forgetting my hardware software concept. Only advanced brains in complexity can come up with advanced concepts designed/created by the s/s/c.

dhw: 3 You agree that “implementation RESULTS in automatic plastic changes”: additional neurons plus all their connections = automatic plastic changes. But you claim that these changes are NOT the result of implementation.

What did you read? Each new advanced brain has plasticity at that level, since it is already enlarged and more complex.

dhw: 4 You agree that “size had plasticity and could modify with implementations”, and yet it now appears that size is not plastic and cannot modify with new implementations.

But you cannot see any of these contradictions.

No contradictions. You are the one who wants to drive enlargement with implementation when we know in sapiens ( as the only evidence we have) all we see is complexity and shrinkage.