[extropy-chat] HISTORY: Solved & Unsolved Riddles

[kevinfreels at hotmail.com]

> > If you can see a predator better by standing up above the grass it also
> > means the predator can see you better, and that's bad news if you're
slow as molasses and if you walk on 2 legs you are.

Yes, they may be able to see you better, but it is a question of who is the
top predator. It is my opinion that our ancestors developed the upright
posture after they were already engaged in active group hunting with simple
tools such as bones, sticks, and rocks. Between the tool usage and the group
hunting, the upright posture would not have been a hinderance since the
result of being seen would not have been to run, but to stop and fight.

>>Better to just briefly come
>>up on 2 legs as many animals do and take a peek and then come back down on
>>4 or just develop a long neck.

It was probably like that at first, but if they could see well, and over
longer distances, they would have the advantage over a predator that pops up
on occasion. With a bit of intelligence, one that even chimps have, they
could probably anticipate what the other predators were able to see. Unlike
most animals, they could use this ability to hide better than a traditional
animal that may be camoflaged well, but doesn;t recognize when it's tail is
sticking way out from behind a rock, and doesn;t realize that their movement
causes the grasses around them to move.

They were simply a better predator; group hunters with an awareness of their
surroundings, simple tools, and primitive communication skills. All before
they could even walk upright.
Early warning of a coming predator, such as a big kitty-kat through a
combination of better awareness, longer distance vision, and a clear view
from being upright would have provided a terrific opportunity for a group to
turn a predator into prey. Gesturing above the grass, calling their
primitive sounds, communicating to tell each member of the party where to
look for the coming kitty. Silently surrounding it, while it stalks the one
party member it saw, completely unaware that it is about to become a meal
itself.

Have you ever tried to point an object out to a cat? They have no idea to
follow the finger. I bet this was one of our first gestures. One that even
Bonobos use today. How superior this one gesture must have made us!

Because of the body structure and the fact that they could already see over
the grasses, the long neck could probably have never occurred. Maybe it
could have happened after another few million years without intelligence,
but at this point it was easier to improve the mind that was already pretty
sharp than it was to redesign the whole body structure.


>I would think coming out of the trees and
> into the open savannah would increase the trend toward 4 leg locomotion,
but
> that's not what happened and I've yet to hear a convincing theory that
> explained why.
> >

Is that convincing for you? If not, I'll dig up more. :-)