The programming talent myth [LWN.net]

The programming talent myth

Posted May 4, 2015 4:26 UTC (Mon) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389)
In reply to: The programming talent myth by paulj
Parent article: The programming talent myth

It's because we regulate temperature by sweating rather than panting. While running, quadrupeds have to link their stride with their breathing (since the ribcage also has to participate in the running motion) and eventually reach a point where their muscle fatigue cannot keep their pace moving fast enough to breathe fast enough to cool down. With sweating, cooling is not linked to breathing and coupled with bipeds not needing to link breathing with gait, overheating is not as much of an issue.

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The programming talent myth

Posted May 4, 2015 5:10 UTC (Mon) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link] (4 responses)

And we also can carry water. A waterskin is a surprisingly ancient invention - even older than fire.

The programming talent myth

Posted May 4, 2015 14:10 UTC (Mon) by viro (subscriber, #7872) [Link] (3 responses)

Evidence, please? We see very definite use of fire by about 0.1Mya; it almost certainly had been in use for longer than that, but even without going into more, er, optimistic claims, where have you seen a waterskin older than 1e5 years? I'm not saying that it's impossible (preservation in a bog, perhaps, or indirect evidence like stoppers), but all examples I've heard about are considerably more recent...

The programming talent myth

Posted May 4, 2015 23:23 UTC (Mon) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link] (1 responses)

There are water corks from about the same period.

The programming talent myth

Posted May 4, 2015 23:54 UTC (Mon) by viro (subscriber, #7872) [Link]

At 100Ky? Do you have a reference? The ones I've heard about were at most 50Ky and the same horizons had clear indications of fire use (bones with signs of cooking, etc.)

In any case, it's getting really off-topic for lwn, so it might be better if you replied by email...

The programming talent myth

Posted May 5, 2015 10:23 UTC (Tue) by paulj (subscriber, #341) [Link]

Crafted stone tools go back 1.5 Mya+. If you can make a finely-crafted hand-axe, you can make a scraper. That's enough technology to make a water bag from animal skin and connectivity tissue: scrape a piece of skin clean, grease and cure it, tie a neck together with dried connective tissues. Won't be water-tight, but it's something.

Genetic studies of human lice suggest clothing was worn at least 100 kya ago. If you can make clothes, you can definitely make waterbags.

So the tooling technology needed to make waterbags exists 1.5 Mya, and we were making more sophisticated (and probably more abstract in function, given the hot conditions) items by 100 kya. It seems like to me.

The programming talent myth

Posted May 4, 2015 8:24 UTC (Mon) by paulj (subscriber, #341) [Link]

Yes indeed, we're pretty well adapted to working in heat. Hence the sparse, fine hair (except on the head) and the profuse sweating. Presumably, our brains being large enough to realise we can clean animal skins and tie them up (using connective tissue of same animal, if nothing else) to make a waterbag we can carry allowed us to go even further down that evolutionary path.

We're amazing animals when it comes to endurance. Sad how so few humans exercise this ability anymore though. ;)