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Groups > rec.arts.sf.written > #459447
| Newsgroups | rec.arts.sf.written |
|---|---|
| From | djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) |
| Subject | Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This |
| Message-ID | <oI1Lp4.1wDq@kithrup.com> (permalink) |
| Date | 2016-12-11 22:41 +0000 |
| References | <109cfe5e-4e59-4d90-a390-7c3f0c12e46f@googlegroups.com> <3616460a-d704-4b49-85c7-cd1b7b025dfc@googlegroups.com> |
| Organization | Kithrup Enterprises, Ld. |
In article <3616460a-d704-4b49-85c7-cd1b7b025dfc@googlegroups.com>, Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote: > >If we are considering aliens with brains bigger than >animals seem to need - why do they have them? Why do humans have brains much bigger than animals seem to need? A primatologist interviewed for the making-of of _Walking with Cavemen_ said it began with being a social primate, needing to keep track of who's in your troop, and who their friends and enemies are, and what's their rank compared to yours. Another factor, I think, was becoming bipedal, and having your hands free to do stuff with. This will select for bigger brains that can think of more stuff to do with their hands. After that it snowballs, as slightly smarter primates have an advantage over slightly less smart primates, including but not limited to lying and cheating. Heinlein's _Tramp Royale_ tells a tale of some monkeys (in Hong Kong? I forget) whom Ginny observed cheating other monkeys out of food items. She was indignant; he commented, "In a few years they're going to have to let them vote." -- Dorothy J. Heydt Vallejo, California djheydt at gmail dot com
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Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-12-10 11:57 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-10 20:37 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2016-12-10 14:08 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2016-12-10 18:04 -0600
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This mcdowell_ag@sky.com - 2016-12-11 00:18 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-12-12 09:27 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2016-12-11 08:01 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-11 22:41 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-12-11 18:36 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-12 03:02 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-12-12 04:38 -0700
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2016-12-12 09:59 +0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-12 03:02 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This "a425couple" <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2016-12-12 15:31 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-12-12 16:00 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2016-12-12 22:40 -0500
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2016-12-13 04:01 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-12-13 06:55 -0600
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-13 04:02 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-12-13 08:13 -0700
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-13 16:26 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-12-13 12:06 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-12-13 21:21 -0600
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2016-12-13 21:53 -0600
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-12-13 22:29 -0700
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-12-14 15:07 -0600
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-14 04:10 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Peter Trei <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2016-12-14 07:09 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-12-14 07:27 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-14 15:50 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2016-12-15 01:18 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-12-15 16:42 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2016-12-16 05:48 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2016-12-17 06:47 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-17 18:58 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2016-12-17 16:16 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2016-12-17 19:25 -0600
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2016-12-14 00:33 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Joe Bernstein <joe@sfbooks.com> - 2016-12-14 09:37 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Paul Arthur <junk+usenet@flowerysong.com> - 2016-12-14 18:49 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-15 01:36 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Chrysi Cat <chrysicat@gmail.com> - 2016-12-15 06:00 -0700
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-15 13:36 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Joe Bernstein <joe@sfbooks.com> - 2016-12-15 10:09 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Anthony Frost <Vulch@vulch.org> - 2016-12-14 08:04 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2016-12-14 09:51 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-12-14 10:40 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-12-14 13:46 -0500
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) - 2016-12-14 18:57 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Default User <defaultuserbr@yahoo.com> - 2016-12-14 11:43 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-15 01:34 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This David DeLaney <daviddelaney@earthlink.net> - 2016-12-14 15:09 -0600
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This David Johnston <Davidjohnston29@yahoo.com> - 2016-12-14 15:00 -0700
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> - 2016-12-14 17:37 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-12-14 07:23 -0500
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-12-13 09:48 -0800
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-12-13 03:18 +0000
Re: Why We Imagine Aliens Look Like This Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2016-12-11 22:54 -0600
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