Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence (Hardcover)

~ John Skoyles (Author), (Author) "Look in a mirror..." (more)
Key Phrases: extrasomatic knowledge, gifted environment, gamma synchronization, Madam Bee, Jane Goodall, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Carl Sagan published The Dragons of Eden in 1977, his speculations on the development of the human brain drew on the still-nascent field of neuroscience. Now science writer Dorion Sagan (Carl's son) and brain theorist Skoyles present a follow-up that includes not only new discoveries about brain functions but also a coherent theory as to how and why humans developed the intelligence that sets them apart from other primates. Key to this evolution, they argue, are two facts: the plasticity of the brain (particularly in the prefrontal cortex), which means that it "is not fixed in what it can do"; and our status as social beings. Because the ape brain had already evolved into a "biocomputer with a wide range of mental skills that was ready, without further physical evolution, to do totally novel things," it could accommodate the need for pre-humans to use symbols to negotiate increasingly complex social relationships. And symbols "made the mind of the human-ape unlike that of any other," enabling its capacity for kinship, emotion and abstract reasoning. "Human evolution," Sagan and Skoyles argue, "did not fix our brain's information processing but instead created reprogrammable neural circuits that could evolve new kinds of intelligence." This thesis may generate controversy, but it is supported with creative arguments and intriguing evidence. Concluding with a sketch of how brain evolution might progress in the coming millennium, Sagan and Skoyles offer a thrilling, accessible biological narrative.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

A breathtaking account of the "unnatural" history of consciousness and human intelligence

Taking its cue from The Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan's 1977 classic and New York Times bestseller, Up from Dragons traces the development of human intelligence back to its animal roots in an attempt to account for the vast differences between our species and all those that came before us. In a book that will spark a storm of debate, neuroscientist John Skoyles and awardwinning author Dorion Sagan introduce a controversial theory of the origins of human intelligence that may hold the answers to questions that have haunted scientists about mind, consciousness, and the evolutionary odyssey of humankind. It also introduces the revolutionary concept of "mindware"­­the human, evolutionary equivalent of computer software­­and describes how the evolution-accelerating symbol-using programs that make it up have empowered us with the unprecedented ability to take charge of our own evolutionary destiny.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (May 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071378251
• ISBN-13: 978-0071378253
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #305,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ascent of the Reptile Brain ?, October 7, 2002

By	Anthony R. Dickinson (WashU Med School, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Championing the ascent of reptiles as much as the descent of man, this thoughtful volume on the evolution of intelligence by Skoyles and Sagan is a welcome addition to the nature/nurture neurophilosophy shelf. The authors take us well beyond the 'usual suspects' listing of gross anatomical brain structure and function of the familiar phyla, traveling a welcome breadth of comparative data to include a wide variety of species (including our earlier selves). Rather than merely outline the familiar shopping list(s) of evolving structures culminating in the development of the modern human cerebral cortex, Skoyles & Sagan do not end with the discussion of its distinctive "associative" or "silent" areas of the brain of old (as so many other authors are still content to do). Instead, and throughout the book's eighteen chapters, we are treated to a series of detailed proposals concerned with the continuously adaptive neural architecture of both the intra- and inter-cerebral structures underlying the evolution human intelligent behavior.
Reminiscent of learning the names of Tolstoy's characters in the early pages of 'War & Peace', one meets here parts of the brain rarely mentioned (let alone claimed to be of any significance in explaining who we are and why we behave as we do). Following the publication of this volume, the long overdue and normally restricted cast of human brain features will now include the structure and functional connectivities of the anterior cingulate, the amygdala, the insula, the orbital and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the brain (and these are just a few of the characters amongst many others that might have been introduced here). We may still not be able to agree upon how best to measure intelligence (IQ, in my view, still tautologically measuring 'what IQ tests measure'), but the physiological substrates of the brain supporting intelligent behavior are slowly coming to be located and characterized. Many of the examples and theoretical components put forward may perhaps appear predictable to those familiar with modern paradigms in comparative psychology and the study of intelligent systems (both biological and man-made), but the real strength of this book is to be seen in its successfully discussing adaptive neural systems for the technical non-specialist. The story as told here is a great achievement for a book aimed at the popular science reader.

The basic thesis of the book follows the development of the nervous system in the aftermath of the 'KT event' (coincident with the demise of the reptilian dinosaurs), which favored flexible, mobile species with nocturnal, cold-adaptable behaviors, capable of finding shelter and forage. In contrast, species with relatively reflexive nervous systems, whilst satisfactory when situated in a stable, predictable environment, can often fail to adapt to changes within the time course of sudden catastrophic events. En route to the architecture of the modern human brain, we meet the aetiology of social and emotional life and their associated neural substrata in the prefrontal cerebral and limbic cortex (amongst other structures). The level of neuroanatomical detail is sufficient to provide a coherent and consistent story of successive adaptations leading to the development of 'higher intelligence', but the pathway taken argues not for this result deriving solely from phylogenetic mutation (per se), but, and more importantly, from ontogenetic neural plasticity and enculturation despite the SAME genetic makeup.

If this idea is new, and at first glance appears to be an uncomfortable one, don't panic! If the authors are right, your prefrontal brain cortex will soon get to work in generating some reflex inhibition, allowing one to assess (and reassess) the situation, temporarily delay one's actions, and then to organize and activate novel planned behaviors towards worked goals. Whether the modern human can prove him/herself to be intelligent enough to plan the survival of any future catastrophe (whether it be of our own making or another KT-like event) we will have to wait and see. In the meantime we have in this book, an accessible version of a still-emerging story telling how, and as the solution to what challenges, the intelligence of a variety of species (including modern humans) currently evolved to demonstrate.

Excellently referenced throughout, with bibliography aplenty for those wishing to read more of the detailed research literature, my only gripe with this book would be with its lack of visualization aids for those unfamiliar with the brain areas mentioned. Although the text is sufficiently detailed to allow the reader to construct crude schematics for him/herself (as one may have done in the case of Tolstoy's family trees?), both anatomical and flowchart illustrations might be of help in hastening the orientation of those perhaps new to the anatomy and neurophysiology of the brain.
Whether this would indeed have been the book that Carl Sagan would have written in 1977 had he possessed the vast corpus of knowledge concerning the brain now available, one may only guess? It is my own view that Skoyles & Sagan's title serves more than to merely pay homage to 'The Dragons of Eden', in whose memory this book is in part written.

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interweaving of primate politics and brain evolution, August 13, 2002

By	Monica Huskey (Columbus, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This book was a revelation. I had heard that we only use ten percent of our brains but this book seems to prove it. Thirty years of brain research are summarized with a new story of "mindware"--how the brain, in our highly social ancestors, programmed itself to do new things. Mother-child attachments, thinking about loved ones when they are not there, our status as a species which must keep track of others in our heads were all involved deeply in the transition from hunter-gatherer to modern human. Genetically we are no different from our ancestors a hundred thousand years ago. The difference between us and apes is thus obviously not a genetic ones. This excellent book by John Skoyles and Dorion Sagan provides the missing link between us and primate ancestors: the neurally changeable brain. This book has many exciting examples, such as the bull rider whose legs seemed paralyzed in his mind in the same position they were in when he was thrown, the boy who uses sonar on his bike to navigate, and the man who experiences orgasm in his feet. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its a magnificient path indeed, May 24, 2006

By	pkkmres "pkkmres" (Ames, IA) - See all my reviews

The evolution of human brain from that reptilian is a fantanstic journey. Phantoms in the brain stops short of giving more insights into consciousness, but this book covers that aspect and the explanations are convincing. The role of pre-frontal lobe in unifying our senses and giving us a feeling of self is well explained. Now, I am not so clueless about consciousness, which was bothering me for a while now.

The evolution of society and its characteristics was kind of boring for me. Though the evolution of politics/culture is entertaining.

This book gives some interesting clues about the origin of self, politics and culture. The examples of primate culture/politics give credible evidence for the ideas put forward.

The book delas with questions like, "Why do we sleep?", "Why do we have dreams?". Beneath, all of us have some reptilian characteristics, which are analysed and explained in the book. The lack of temperature control for a brief periods in our sleep is a reminder of our ancestral(reptilian) lifestyle.