Small Brain Did Not Stop Hobbit Having Big Ideas

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 9-8-2005 | Nic Fleming/Roger highfield

[blam]

I've read that the Hobbit's brocha's area is four times larger than modern humans.

[frankjr]

"Small Brain" = "Weatherman"

[blam]

GGG Ping.

"Discreteness and productivity, cognitively come from Brocha's area, the arcuate fasticulus, Wernicke's area, and their interactions with the cerebral cortex. Brocha's area controls the scripts the motor cortex will use to physically speak the discrete linguistic elements handed to it through the arcuate fasticulus from Wernicke's area. Socially, this discreteness and productivity is invaluable for cultural transmission and interoperability of human language, as they combine to allow humans to form an infinite amount of unique sentences, most of which they'd never before heard, and be mutually intelligible with members of their community."

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Another 20,000 reply thread....

[RichInOC]

I'm betting his cause of death was blunt-force trauma as a result of being tossed.

[MRMEAN]

I say we extract the DNA from the bones, clone'im, and run'im through a maze.

[Ladysmith]

Ping-a-ling

[Sam Cree]

Another thread on these characters.

[badpacifist]

The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began,

Now far ahead the Road has gone and I must follow if I can.

[Coyoteman]

What's the mtDNA show? Any results there yet? That should provide a big clue.

[blam]

"What's the mtDNA show? Any results there yet? "

I've not seen anything yet. I assure you it will be interesting. (...and, probably confusing.)

[Coyoteman]

"What's the mtDNA show? Any results there yet?"

I've not seen anything yet. I assure you it will be interesting. (...and, probably confusing.)

Heard a presentation Sunday from one of the three labs that tried to get mtDNA from Kennewick Man. They have the various haplogroups busted up into a lot of subgroups, so they can track folks a lot more accurately now.

They have a paper coming out soon, I hear. Should be interesting.

One specimen from SE Alaska (11,000 BP or so) was traced all the way to Tierra del Fuego and also east of the Mississippi. Movement was north to south, based on these new subgroups.

We're doing science now!

[blam]

"We're doing science now!"

Yup...and, long overdue.

[citizencon]

Dimunitive Howard Dean has big ideas...

[punster]

"Dimunitive Howard Dean has big ideas..."

Now, referring back to the article:

---

Sceptics had argued that the Hobbit, discovered in Indonesia and first announced last year, could have been an individual who suffered from microcephalya, a disorder that limits brain growth.

---

Yes, it could be 'Mad How' Dean, or one of the Senate Democrats.

[miliantnutcase]

Next to hobbit's tools were also an 8-ball of cocaine, and a bottle of malt liquor which reaffirms the belief he was a democrat.

[metmom]

or else our assumptions about brain size were "utterly wrong".

Could it be? Haven't we heard that we only use something like 10 % of our brain anyway? It could have been of equal intelligence to us if it used more.

[blam]

"Next to hobbit's tools were also an 8-ball of cocaine, and a bottle of malt liquor which reaffirms the belief he was a democrat."

Nope. They found an 80,000 year old well worn shell necklace with one of the skeletons. I don't believe Homo Erectus was thought to be capable of making necklaces.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam. Not pinging, because I'm about to ping for the Digest, and everyone gets a ping for that.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

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