Human Intelligence: Not Limited to Biology

Close your eyes and imagine you are a member of the species Archaic Homo sapiens. You have taken shelter from the furious storm, in an icy cave somewhere in China. The sky is endless and ornamented with pitch black. The clouds are frantic and the stars have been buried. There is no light and the blistering cold is piercing through your skin. Your family anticipates with inquisitive anxiety, while you attempt to find a remedy. After strenuous stabs there is hope, you have established a way of manipulate the blazing flames of fire. Owing to the fire you have just build, you and your family are cozy, secure from predators, and are able to pass on family tales. Back to 2007, Open your eyes and ask your self, "What guided me to accomplish control of fire." What triggered a reaction in your, now bigger then your ancestor, brain? For years now, humans have taken advantage of their brain. They understand the biological aspect of intelligence and assume that one is either born with intelligence or is doomed. Yet the average person understands very little how their behavior and environment plays a part in the intelligence of the brain; how humans have reached such sophisticated technical and industrialized societies. Despite this fact, in the scientific world there are various theories and ideas that answer the question: What are the environmental/behavioral factors that contribute to the intelligence of the human brain? This paper is going to address some of the most important ones.

The environmental/behavioral contributions to the human intelligence are abundant. The First concept to be introduced is better embraced in two words - trial and error. Trail and error is a method of evaluating solutions and eliminating those that are futile. This method is commonly used by people who have little knowledge in the problem area. Due to a lack of knowledge a person basically speculates and experiments with several possible answers to a problem. The use of trail and error is evident in the evolution of all most all living organism. Furthermore even in such a modern age humans incorporate this method in their every day life with the same age old basic principles of trail and error. An explanatory example of trail and error would be man learning to fly. From the 100 drawings by Leonardo De Vinci that illustrate his theories on flight in 1485, to the 1903 first actual flight at Kitty Hawk by the American brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright from Ohio, the history of man learning to fly is based on trail and error (NASA). The practice of trail and error is obvious in natural selection it self. In accordance to neo - Darwinist view, evolution builds on the formation of unsystematic combinations of matter, with the consequent struggle for survival, "as a result of which some combinations survive and proliferate, while other perish" (Heylighten). Additionally, the Scientific Theory, Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing, Reinforced Learning and Mathematics all contain the elements of trail and error. The fact that the methods of trial and error aids humans in discarding unsuccessful solutions is very significant because it permits a human to learn from what does not work, to what works, to what works best. This gained knowledge is then attained and broaden through development or utilization in other similar situations.

Moreover, the use of another method of learning, practices makes perfect, accelerate human intelligence. The concept of practice makes perfect needs no clarification; it is as simple as carrying out an action continuously in order to be more precise at it. Yet this simple definition should not be taken lightly, it is very difficult to exaggerate on the importance of practice. For a new skill to become natural or for new knowledge to become long lasting, practice is essential. The reason why practice makes perfect is that when a new skill is being mastered, let's say guitar playing, practice allows the cortical maps, in the human brain cortex, to modify and neuron populations may be annexed for specific purposes (Pycha). For instance, infants learning to speak need much practice in hearing and vocalization. In a study done by The University of Washington newborns and 6-12 month old infants were exposed to three kinds of sounds - pure tones not resembling speech, three-tone harmonic chord resembling speech and two Finnish syllables. Activation in the Broca, the temporal part of the brain that identifies as the seat of speech production, the social cognition and is critical to language and reading, was detected in all of the babies. Likewise after the babies were constantly exposed to the sounds as they grew, activation in Broca area occurred simultaneously with the auditory areas. Patricia Khul, one of the researchers, claims that babies need to engage with sounds which will help them grasp relationships between sounds with the movement of their mouth and tongue. To master a skill, babies have to play and practice just as they later will in learning how to throw a baseball or ride a bike. Babies form brain connections by listening to themselves and linking what they hear to what they did to cause the sounds. Eventually they will use this skill to mimic speakers in their environments (Washington). It is imperative that such practices are not neglected. If they are, declares H. Chandler Elliott, the author of The Shape Of Intelligence, infants will not learn to "transmute their babbling into speech; and such cases may never gain full command of language, no matter how well they are trained later" (Elliott). Further, practice that is sustained encourages longer intelligence. For instance, some studies illustrate that if material is studied for about a semester it will be forgotten after a year. For information to stay long-term, a person needs to study the material for 3 to 4 years. This will allow the information to be retained for about 50 years (Willingham). The point that practice molds our brains concludes that the human brain is similar to the human body - the more exercise or brain food it receives the more functional it becomes.

An additional factor of human intelligence is the availability, exposure and the reproduction of accurate knowledge. The availability of accurate knowledge is having access to information. The exposure to accurate knowledge is being indulged in the information provided. The reproduction of accurate knowledge is unbiased passing forward, or in other sense, making available the information for others. It is easy to see that this is a cycle that has probably been establishing new intellect for centuries. To illustrate this point lets for a minute take an Anthropology lesson. The first Homo genus to appear was Homo habilies, who was also the first to use stone tools, the Oldovan type. About a couple of hundred thousands years latter came along Homo erectus, who "produced the Acheulian style" of tools. The Acheulian tools were a more improved form of the H. Habilis Oldovan tool kit. Between H. Habilis and the Neanderthal the tool kits further became refined into the Levalloisian technique, which developed into the Mousterian style by Neanderthals. Finally the Mousterian tool kit advanced into the Magdalenian, equipped by Modern H. Sapiens (Eccles). Supplement to the above, three individual cultural stages of Homo erectus, found in the Zhoukoudian cave of China, give testimony to the transition of advance tools from one culture to another:

· The Earliest (460-420 k.y.a.) large tools of soft stone (sandstone choppers)

· Middle (370-350 k.y.a.) smaller and lighter tools (coarse quartz)

· Final (300-230 k.y.a.) small tools of better quality (fine quartz and flint scrapers, points, burins and awls) (Jurmain).

What we can learn from this lesson is that each hominid genus or species grew more intelligent due to the living standards of the pervious one. More modern examples of the knowledge cycle are visible in the medical field and technological fields. There is no doubt that for centuries the medical field has constantly used the knowledge they already had in order to generate and distribute new knowledge about health. At the risk of sounding a bit sarcastic, first there was just Tylenol, and then came children's Tylenol, Tylenol PM, Tylenol Cough and then Tylenol allergies and the list continues. When it comes to technology, there is no bigger example then Apple. Apple was first a personal computer manufacture. After years of development it is an all out multi media machine. Ever heard of the multi colored Macintosh, lap tops, I-pods - I-pod shuffle, I-pod Nano, I-Mack, they even have an I-phone, and there is no stopping this list either. The availability, exposure and reproduction of knowledge facilitate human intelligence because it permits humans to learn from others experience and to make qualified judgments. They also assist in building fundamental bases for new ideas with information from pervious ideas.

In spite of all this, there is something that is lacking. What initiates the motivation for human knowledge? The answer is competition. There is no hesitation to the fact that humans are a very competitive species. From our ancestors to the leaders of our nations today, humans battle it out for supremacy. They try to out number each other for higher social class, more control of the environment and better living standards. "Darwin's and Wallace's' conceptualization of natural selection as a 'struggle for existence' becomes in addition a struggle with other humans for control of the resources that support life and allow one to reproduce" (Geary). So why did our ancestors refine their tools? Perhaps because they wanted superior and sharper tools then their opponents. Why does Tylenol have countless array of medicine? Because it wants to be the dominant brand on the shelf. Why is Apple on its feet when it comes to gadget making? So they can win the hearts of Microsoft costumers. The question now is, does the method of competition work in favor of human intelligence? Of course it does! Only recently did Apple release a new operating system dubbed the OS 9. In order to keep its consumers in high spirits, Microsoft released the Windows Vista - their version of the new operating system. This keeps society well advance, giving them the choice in choosing operating system. Competition makes obligatory for intelligence to exist because winning motivates humans to learning, to breed knowledge and to break limits and barriers.

When it comes to the factors that contribute to the intelligence of the human brain, equally important is the interaction between human anatomy and the environment. There is a reason why humans have the five senses: smell, sight, touch, taste and hearing. There is also a reason why these sense have endured the evolutionary changes of human anatomy. The reason is that these senses have aided humans in being more aware, sharp and explorative towards their environment. Smell, sight, touch, taste and hearing have allowed humans to connect with the environment in a way in which there can be an exchange of information. One of the most remarkable discoveries of human comprehension of the environment, through their sense, is the Blanchard engraving. This engraving suggests that the early Paleolithic era of Homo sapiens sapiens (about 30,000 yBP) was the era in which a "cognitive system of observation, abstraction, and documentation" was formed. Found at Blanchard in France, the Blanchard engraving is a plaque that illustrates the "sequential phases of the moon for two and a quarter months"(Eccles). There are reasons to believe that the engraver may have used the plaque to carefully the changing seasons and the behavior of the animals that were going to be game. On the other had, he or she could have used the plaque for "scheduling rituals and periodic aggregation of groups" (Eccles). The point to be emphasized is that the engraver was observing the moon with his or her eyes and manipulating different kinds of tools with his or her hands in order to establish a way of grasping a greater perception of the environment. Similarly, the ability of the five senses to fill in for one another is incredible. This ability has kept the ball rolling when it comes to human intelligence. Even though, due to disabilities some people are deprived of either of the senses, they have the other four senses to be of assistance. In other words, blind or visually impaired people have little to no eye sight, yet they can read with their hands by reading material that employs the Braille system of raised dots. People who can not talk or hear can use sign language for communication. In all, the human brain, through the massive neural network of the body, receives information about the world out side the skull from the nose, ears, skin, mouth and eyes. With out these little detectives it would be very hard to acquire any knowledge. There are minimal possibilities of ever applying the trail and error method, practice makes perfect method, or creating and recreating information or being a good competitor.

In general there are many other factors that may contribute to the intelligence of the human brain and are not limited to the ones I have mentioned. Even so, my personal opinion is that, although there is a great amount of influence that biology has on human intelligence, the principal influence are the factors driven from the environment and behavior. I believe in the notion that nature sets the machine up but the environment encourages and forms the way it will work. Environment, molds the biology of a person or the fundamentals of a person. It would be bias to say, that that's all biology does - create a base for human life. Yet at the same time it would also be irrational to say that the rest of the human life construction plays no great part in what a human really is or how he or she grows.

If biology was the only factor in human intelligence, then why are not the smart babies' millionaires at the moment they are born. It might sound ridicules, but the question stands firm. If intelligence was just hereditary why are there so many cultures and races still alive - should they not have died of stupidity? There are many cases where humans are born with disabilities, such as not being able to speak, how do these people still survive? Because of the supportive environment they are raised in and the behavior they choose to apply to their life. Although we may never answer question like what came first the chicken or the egg? We know that both intervene with each other and one can not exist without the other.

WorkCited

· Eccles, John C. Evolution of The Brain: Creation of the Self. New

York: Routledge, 1989.

· Elliott, Chandler H. The Shape of Intelligence: The Evolution of The

Human Brain. New York: Scribner, 1969.

· Grary, David C. The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition,

and General Intelligence. Washington: American Psychological

Association, 2005.

· Jurmain, Robert., Lynn Kilgore, and Wenda Trevathan. Introduction to

Physical Anthropology. 10^th ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth,

2005.

· NASA. History of Flight. 18 Apr. 2007 . · Pycha, Anne. Why Practice Makes Perfect. Aug. 2000. 18 Apr. 2007 · Washington, University. Practice Builds Brain Connections For Babies Learning Language, How To Speak. 10 Jul. 2006. 25 2007 · Willingham, Daniel T. Practice Makes Perfect. 2004. 20 Apr. 2007 · There is another site that I used, however because it was down, I was not able to get the information need for citation. The fallowing is the URL,