7 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2023
      • = human being's = altricial nature - is an = evolutionary adaptation
      • resulting in exceptional = complex social learning
      • tradeoff of helplessness at birth
      • is complex social learning
      • that enables cumulative cultural evolution
    1. Human infants need to acquire complex social skills, including language, empathy, morality and theory of mind, the researchers said. Successful development of these skills depends on information from adults: “Rather than requiring hard-wired, innate knowledge of social abilities, evolution has outsourced the necessary information to parents,”
      • rather than hard-wiring innate knowledge of complex social skills, nature outsources = complex social skills - like:
        • language
        • empathy
        • morality
        • theory of mind
      • to parents
    2. “The evolutionary goal of altricial species is not to become highly competent as quickly as possible but rather to excel at learning over time.”
      • = quotation
      • The evolutionary goal of altricial species
      • is not to become highly competent as quickly as possible - but rather to
      • excel at learning over time.
    3. extended altriciality creates opportunities for sophisticated social learning within the parent-offspring system.
      • = extended altriciality
      • creates opportunities for sophisticated = social learning
      • within the = parent-offspring system.
    4. This prolonged period of immaturity and helplessness – or altriciality – in human babies and other species, long thought to be a drain on resources, is actually an evolutionary advantage
      • = altrciality is an = evolutionary advantage
    5. human babies, as well as the young of many other species of mammals and birds, require months or years of care before they reach full mobility and sensory function, let alone maturity.
      • = altricial species

        • humans
        • other mammals
        • birds
      • human babies require months or years of care

      • before they reach full mobility and sensory function