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Brain-body allometry revisited across mammals (johnhawks.net)
50 points by Hooke on June 18, 2021 | hide | past | favorite | 6 comments




> I think a proper examination of the variation within these species and the addition of other species would probably eliminate the appearance of negative allometry in the hominins.

What is “proper”?

The fact is simply that different species have different ratios. Any attempt to organise species measurements to show a trend is a fetish.

There is no trend. Animals just are what they are.

This need to infer a trend is rooted in the urge of (some) humans to rationalise their worldview of being superior to other animals.


Your last paragraph is unnecessary to making your point — which is very good. We’re still overcommitted to tree-like “directed acyclic” mental models of evolution and life itself, despite convergent evolution (there are sea mammals?! there are sea mammals!!), epigenetics, horizontal gene transfer, wasp and orchid-type feature transfer…


> Your last paragraph is unnecessary to making your point

Thanks for your comment about my comment.

Why do you think we're overcommitted to tree-like directed-acyclic mental modes of evolution?


The urge of (some) humans to rationalise their worldview in terms of woody perinneal plants?


Allometry predicts much about animals, according to the evidence. What evidence do you have?




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