How humans came to the point they are today is quite impressive, and is one of the greatest questions facing mankind. In this article, Michael Balter looks into the least understood and most complex human organ; the brain, and explores as to why it is so disproportionately large. When compared to other species, the human brain is significantly larger and has allowed humans to reign the earth. But, then, why do other animals not have the same size brain? The brain of our closest evolutionary relative is a chimpanzee whose brain is even 1/3 the size of ours. This article cites the "social brain hypothesis", which is the most widely accepted theory. Researchers believe that our complex social relationships are the cause for the size, as other species have much simpler relationships within their population. In fact, studies are being conducted to see if there is a direct correlation between brain size and a persons ability to be social(as shown by the number of facebook friends) But, a striking majority of scientists disagree with this theory as they believe it is incredibly simplistic and narrow. Alternative theories cite "social learning" as the main cause which would be the main force behind acquired foraging methods and tool discoveries. One thing is for certain; this is a massive question perplexing scientists which will always remain relevant, almost as complex as determining the origins of life on earth. This article was posted on slate.com which is a trusted news source created to bring up interesting and perplexing questions regarding primarily scientific issues. The author clearly defines the subject of the text by explaining the background regarding the human brain. The audience was also kept in mind as the author utilizes allusions to The Wizard of Oz and has a unique engaging style. Through the use of references to recently conducted studies, Balter is able to establish Ethos furthering his awareness of the audience. Overall, this builds an article that is effective in providing the current knowledge regarding the size of the brain in an incredibly concise manner, a stylistic approach which Slate typically employs successfully. Certainly, this question will be quite perplexing in the future, and may always be answered through theory rather than fact, but would we be asking such a question had our brain been smaller?
Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_evolution/2012/10/human_brain_size_social_groups_led_to_the_evolution_of_large_brains.single.html
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