Human Evolution & Intelligence StudiesTrending Away From Reductionism
April 07 2008 / by Alvis Brigis
Category: Biotechnology Year: General Rating: 17 Hot
How strong are your genes? How smart are you? People have
traditionally estimated answers to these questions based on
genetic
surveys and IQ Tests, which can provide
valuable answers, but stop well short of factoring in the system(s)
surrounding us. This failure to account for environmental effects
and group dynamics ultimately caps their utility when it come to
the fundamental future-related questions we all seek to answer,
like “How probable is it that I/we will survive?” or “How likely is
it that I/we will thrive?” 
But don’t worry, we’re getting better at quantifying our system all the time. Right now, we may be on the verge of a perspective shift that will help us to fill in a few more gaps and better our systems definitions. Both human intelligence and evolutionary studies appear poised for a due emphasis shift from reductionism (the focus on individual human agents and single brains) to a more holistic (the focus on large groups and the surrounding bio/info/tech structures) approach.
Cognitive theorist Jim Flynn, founder of the Flynn Effect, argues that it is impossible to properly measure intelligence without considering a combination of genetic and environmental effects. He and William Dickens of the Brookings Institution have developed a new model, which demonstrates that environmental factors play a much larger role in the evolution of cognition than previously thought. They theorize about how “industrialization’s rising cognitive demands, at work and leisure, could in fact be the kind of widespread (but not necessarily large), steadily changing environmental factor that could account for the higher IQ scores across so many nations.” (cont.)
Similarly, a recent Wired article lays out how biologists are working hard to fuse understanding of complex social systems and broader evolution.
“[N]ot every scientist thinks that evolution as it’s now understood and applied is complete,” writes Wired’s Brandon Keim, “They want to scale it up to the level of populations, even whole ecosystems. Moreover, they say evolution is intertwined with other dynamics that science is just starting to understand.”
Both these examples reveal a new push for topsight, or a broader perspective, enabled by a proliferation of scientific data, better computing, and new technologies like sensor networks that allow for the more specific mining of information from the system. The resulting knowledge will yet again refine our view of the system, thus bettering our ability to simulate our future and perhaps turning upside-down our notions of what truly constitutes a human. In turn, it may exert a profound effect on the assumptions we have made in regard to concepts like Artificial Intelligence, nature, technology, singularities, and life itself.
Comment Thread (1 Response)
-
One could draw parallels to this excellent post by Alvis and that of Futuretalk’s Earth 3000 piece in that the move towards higher level civilizations requires a holistic approach, one where the earth and human society are seen as systems rather than just collections of nations, tribes etc. For me, it also brings to mind two books that focus on multi-disciplinary scientific approach – Complexity and Consilience, as well as the great work being done at The Santa Fe Institute and that of John Holland
Posted by: Jeff April 07, 2008
Vote for this comment - Recommend