Not So Simple After All? Apes, Einstein, and the Many Mysteries of the Human Brain ~ Dean Falk
Here is a simple story about the origins of the human brain: All primate brains are good at packing neurons into a small space—they are neural supercomputers. The human brain is just what you’d expect from a monkey of our size: big, packed with neurons, but no more special than that. It's the chimps and gorillas who are special: without cooked food, their brains stay oddly small.Or so argues Suzana Herculano-Houzel, my guest in last week's episode. In today's episode, paleo-neurologist Dean Falk argues that the story is stranger still.I'll let her tell you why.Enjoy!DIG DEEPERSee also last spring's episode with Dean Falk on toolmaking and childhoods, as part of the Origins of Humankind -series. SUPPORT THE SHOWOnHumans.Patreon.comMENTIONS AND KEYWORDSScholarsCharles Darwin | Dietrich Stout | Robin Dunbar | Katarina Semenderfi | Weiwei Men | Joseph Ledoux | Jane GoodallTechnical termsEndocasts | Sulci and gyri | Broca's area | Brodmann Area 10, also known as BA10 and the frontal pole | Acheulean hand axe technology KeywordsBrain science | Neuroscience | Neurology | Paleoneurology | Evolutionary Anthropology | Comparative Anatomy | Cognitive Archaeology | Origins of Consciousness
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Prologue: The (Very Simple) Story of the Human Brain ~ Suzana Herculano-Houzel
I'm excited to announce that On Humans is launching a new series this fall! This one will explore the wonders of the human brain. The new episodes will drop throughout September and early October. To set the stage, we will revisit a conversation with neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel, newly re-edited and remastered. It’s the simplest and most elegant story I’ve heard about how our brains came to be — and it sets the stage for the debates to follow. Enjoy! DIG DEEPERHerculano-Houzel's book is called The Human Advantage.You can read a free episode breakdown at OnHumans.Substack.comFor more on human evolution, see the full series on the Origins of Humankind.SUPPORT THE SHOWYou can pledge your support at Patreon.com/OnHumansKEYWORDS Human evolution | Brain evolution | Neuroscience | Biology | Anthropology | Cerebral Cortex | Neuron counting | Comparative neurology | Comparative biology | Comparative anatomy | Harry Jerrison | Paleoanthropology | Human origins |
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The Great Question of History: India, Britain, and the Fates of Nations | Live at the British Academy
Why did the great powers of Asia stagnate whilst Europe was rising? This question—often called the Great Divergence—is one of the most defining questions of modern history.Few case studies illuminate this question as well as the contrast between Britain and India. Did colonialism make Britain rich and India poor? Or was Britain’s rise already underway before conquest? And what does all this tell us about the everyday experiences of the people of on two sides of the divide?This episode is a live recording from the British Academy, where I was invited to speak at the launch of Bishnupriya Gupta’s An Economic History of India. I was honoured to give this talk on this exceptionally rich topic, speaking after some of the leading experts of India's history. How did I do? Share your thoughts in the comments at OnHumans.Substack.com.Enjoy!DIG DEEPERRead: See my article on the "Origins of Modern India". Complement with "Origins of Modern China" from last fall.Listen: Check out the two-part "What About India?" series from this February. Complement with the episode with Professor Tirthankar Roy this July.SUPPORT THE SHOWYou can pledge your support at Patreon.com/OnHumansKEYWORDS Big history | Economic History | Why the West | Gunpowder empires | Mughals | Colonialism | Imperialism | British East India Company | European colonialism | History of Colonialism | Geographical Determinism | Environmental Determinism | Political History | Fiscal History | Great Divergence | Western Dominance | Early Modern History | Kenneth Pomerantz | Steven Broadberry
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Encore | Why Agriculture? Climate Change and the Origins of Farming ~ Andrea Matranga
Climate. Weathers. History.Here's an encore episode to wrap up the mini-series on these themes!This episode on the puzzling origins of farming is one of my all-time favourites on the show. I thought it was a good time to put it out again.You can also read my essay on the topic here.Enjoy!~ORIGINAL SHOW NOTESAgriculture changed everything. Traditionally, this “Neolithic Revolution” was celebrated for opening the gates of civilisation. Recently, it has been compared to the original sin. But whatever our take on agriculture, we should be puzzled by one thing: Why did our ancestors start to farm in the first place? It's not like early farmers had improved lives. Quite the opposite, they worked harder and suffered from worse health. So why did so early farmers stick to it? And why did farming spread so far and wide?Andrea Matranga thinks he has the answer. An economic historian at the University of Torino, Matranga links agriculture to climate change. This is not a new idea — not as such. After all, agriculture developed in lockstep with the end of Ice Ages. For years, this vague link has formed my own pet-theory on the matter. But I never paused to reflect on the obvious problem with it. There was never an “Ice Age” in Sudan. Why didn’t humans just farm there? Matranga has the answer to this and many other puzzles. And surprisingly, his answer is linked to the movements of Jupiter. I will let him tell you why.We begin this episode covering some previous theories on the origins of agriculture. Next, we dissect Matranga's theory and the evidence for it. Towards the end, we talk about the spread of farming — peaceful and violent — and note a neglected downside to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. As always, we finish with my guest’s reflection on humanity.LINKSYou can find my summary of Matranga's theory with links to academic articles at OnHumans.Substack.com.Do you like On Humans? Join the group of patrons at Patreon.com/OnHumans!MENTIONSNamesV. Gordon Childe | Jared Diamond | Mo Yan | Alain Testart | Robert J. Braidwood | Milutin Milanković | Feng He | James Scott | Richard B. Lee | Irven DevoreTermsNeolithic | Holocene | Pleistocene | Consumption smoothing | Malthusian limit | Milankovitch cyclesEthnic groupsNatuffians | Pacific Northwestern hunter-gatherers KeywordsAnthropology | Archaeology | Big History | Economic History | Agricultural Revolution | Neolithic Revolution | Homo Sapiens | Sapiens | Climate change | Paleoclimatology | Seasonality | Origins of Agriculture | Neolithic Revolution | Climate Change | Hunter-Gatherers | Human Civilization | Population Growth | Sedentary Lifestyle | Subsistence Farming | Evolutionary Adaptation | State Violence | Agricultural Coercion | Ancient DNA
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Climate, Water, and the Origins of Colonialism ~ Tirthankar Roy
Before they built empires, the Europeans built ports.Across Africa and Asia, European sailors arrived as merchants. They traded and negotiated. They defended their interests—sometimes with cannon fire. But they were not trying to govern a foreign land.Yet things changed. Why?Historian Tirthankar Roy has a bold new answer. Roy is a professor at the London School of Economics, where he teaches a renowned course on the economic history of colonialism. His most recent book isThe Origins of Colonialism. And in it, Roy explains that we cannot understand the origins of European Empires in Asia and Africa by simply zooming into the actions of Europeans. We must understand what happened to the elites of the lands being conquered. And more often than not, that had to do with the rains, rivers, and access to water. In this episode, Roy explains how his theory sheds light on the rise of the British Empire in India. Along the way, we also sketch many broader ideas about the story of global colonialism, from Chinese ports to the conquest of Burma and from the water problems of Mumbai to the rubber plantations of Congo.Enjoy!This is part two of this summer’s mini-series on the way climate has shaped the human story. Curious to hear more? Head to last week’s episode on how an ancient climate change paved the way for the very origins of humanity!Thoughts about Roy’s points? Or mine? Voice them at OnHumans.Substack.com! (Episode page uploaded within an hour of the episode drop.)SUPPORT THE SHOWYou can pledge your support at Patreon.com/OnHumansDIG DEEPERCheck out also the two-part "What About India?" series from this February!KEYWORDS Colonialism | Imperialism | British East India Company | European colonialism | Africa | Asia | India | China | History of Colonialism | Geographical Determinism | Environmental Determinism | Political History | Military History | Fiscal History | Great Divergence | Western Dominance | Early Modern History
Where do we come from? What brings us together? Why do we love? Why do we destroy?
On Humans features conversations with leading scholars about human nature, human condition, and the human journey. From the origins of war to the psychology of love, each topic brings fresh insights into perennial questions about our self-understanding.
Support: Patreon.com/OnHumans
Articles: OnHumans.Substack.com
Focus areas: Anthropology, Psychology, Archaeology, Philosophy, Big History
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