Babylonians Discovered Calculus

by cofty 15 Replies latest social current

  • konceptual99
    konceptual99
    And yes konceptual99 it was a joke. Seriously I am wasted on this crowd. :wink:

    Phew! You had me worried for a minute!

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot

    cofty - "Babylonians discovered calculus."

    Bastards.

    Just couldn't leave well enough alone, huh?

    :wink:

  • RubaDub
    RubaDub

    Yes, the Babylonians were derivatives of their times but were not integrated.

    Rub a Dub

  • redpilltwice
    redpilltwice
    It sort of takes away the notion of people getting more intelligent over the centuries

    Not really. They were so interested in Jupiter because they thought it was integral to predicting the weather, the price of goods, and the fluctuating river levels.

    Cofty, thank you for your post, but are you telling that the Babylonian tendency to superstition and what we now know as pseudo science has something to do with their intelligence? Aren't millions today who have learned calculus at school also interested in astology and other superstition as well?

  • redpilltwice
    redpilltwice

    Interesting line of defence Cofty. I thought you'd more straightforwardly point out that evolution doesn't necessitate humans getting smarter. Being dumber or having a smaller brain could equally have selective advantages. In fact I think some have argued humans are getting dumber. The opposite of the Flynn effect.

    Intriguing statement Slimboyfat. After having read Evolution is a fact #9 - Less Chewing More Thinking, do you believe that "the MYH16 gene in humans that produces a protein called myosin heavy chain 16" will react on smaller brain size and return to bigger temporalis muscles? You know, like primates such as the chimpanzee or even the gorilla where this protein produces their powerful chewing pressure of the jaw.



  • cofty
    cofty
    Aren't millions today who have learned calculus at school also interested in astrology and other superstition as well? - redpilltwice

    Tragically yes.

    Intelligence and rationality are loosely connected.

    do you believe that "the MYH16 gene in humans that produces a protein called myosin heavy chain 16" will react on smaller brain size and return to bigger temporalis muscles?

    No - What an odd question.

    Ever since Homo sapiens invented knives and forks large temporalis muscles ceased offer an evolutionary advantage. --- (mild sarcasm alert)

    Natural selection only acts on mutations if they confer an advantage on the individual increasing their chances of reproducing.

    Just to be clear the depletion of the big muscle allowed the cranium to become thinner and larger making it possible to have bigger brains. Be aware that this is a massively simplified account of a long process.

    The point of that thread was that the MYH16 gene in humans is an example of a pseudogene - a relic of our evolutionary history.

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