better prepared to cope with such extreme conditions. Most definitely though, you would have been ahead if you happened to be part of a group that stored food or was able to hibernate. Also, it would have been helpful if you were an omnivore. Migrating would not have been a useful tactic even for species that were equipped to travel very long distances. Our distant ancestors must have realized that brute power alone was not going to be the answer. In nature, bigger and stronger is not always better. Dinosaurs are the perfect example of how flawed this concept is. In the cat family, lions are the strongest yet they starve like any other predators. In harsh conditions their size and power become a liability: there is not enough food to sustain them. On the other hand the smaller cat is better equipped to survive and cope under almost any conditions. It requires a fraction of the meat a lion would consume. Despite the difference in power, the small cat turns out to be the smartest of all predators. Lions may be strong and powerful but the fact is that the small cat’s choice to remain tiny has proven to be a smarter one. In a world running low on resources, we now can see why large size, more power and strength are not always the best approach to securing a better chance of survival. A case in a point is the fact that small cats proved to be more successful than lions that have become an endangered species. Even with lions, the huge male makes a very poor hunter. The smaller female is the real bread winner in the family. She does all the work while the male plays the role of the pride’s protector. The lioness also found a way to gain more power by teaming up with other females. Our ancestors must have seen many powerful predators starve and this is when they must have decided to evolve into a different direction. This is why I believe that the enlargement of the brain took place before we evolved into our present form. The Inuit of North America would make an ideal example of how they would have coped with an extremely cold climate. It is astounding how they were able to develop this fascinating method of building their homes out of snow. To me an igloo is the perfect example of the human ingenuity. Not only that, but think for a moment how much safer our ecological system would be if we, as modern people could somehow develop new methods which would enable us to survive without harming the environment or depleting the planet resources. To this day we haven’t seen any organism that had to face the conditions described earlier. This may be considered a wishful thinking by some, however, knowing what animals are capable of achieving on earth and the way they behave, should shed some light on this theory. In short, there is nothing unusual about animals and birds building nests and digging burrows, collecting food and using simple tools. Some domesticated animals are even able to unlatch a door, manipulate electrical switches and may be able to perform other tasks if trained. Dolphins are known to execute many complex tasks for the military. At first this is how humans must have behaved. They would not have had any problem storing food in caves. Many rodents still do that - although they store theirs underground or in trees. They could have used tools in the same way chimps and other small animals use sticks to get into insect holes or rocks to crack nuts. Digging a snow hut would have been possible as well. As time went by, they started to become more efficient and required enough knowledge to be able to live like the Inuit. From there they kept evolving and expanding their knowledge. Working together should not have been difficult; most predators on earth live together and hunt in groups. They are even able to communicate among each other in their own language. In my opinion if weather conditions were to turn extremely harsh on this planet, one or more species may even start using more brain power just like we did a long time ago - albeit on a different planet. In fact, recently, short of prey, killer whales were caught on film working together as they went about hunting for seals. From what was broadcasted, one could see a few seals lying on a slab of ice. Next, the whole slab starts to shake. Surprisingly, about four of five killer whales were working together to topple the slab of ice which would force the seals in the water where the whales can get to them. Eventually, persistence paid off, and the whales had a feast. This type of operation requires more than a skillful hunter. Killer whales have proven that they have the mental capacity to communicate in order to plan a coordinated effort. In other word, they have a brain and they will use it when there is a need for it. To my thinking animals happened to be very similar to humans. In fact, when it comes to physiology and biology, we happen to be the primitive species. Yet, on the other hand, we were able to develop a great capacity to acquire knowledge, delegate multi tasks, coordinate complex assignments, cooperate various efforts and communicate profound thoughts - all of which are important steps leading to creativity. In addition to this capacity, we were also able to develop our own personality which in turn leads us to become more individualistic and thus able to be analytical and contemplative. The best comparison to understand the difference between animals and humans is to look at the way we play soccer and the way bison and buffaloes team up to repel an attack by predators. In the former case, cooperation and discipline are also enhanced by the contribution of every player - his individuality, his personality, his creativity, his imagination and his strong desire for recognition - all of which play an important role in helping the team achieve victory. In the latter case, the members rely on their memories and their leader. Animals are capable of thinking and cooperating, except they haven’t attained the mental capacity which we as humans have reached long time ago. It is this capacity that allows us to coordinate our collective efforts and help us become cheetahs, lions, bison and eagles all at once, whereas a dog can only be a dog--and a lion cannot go beyond being a lion. The notion of animals thinking may look far-fetched now, but things may be completely different when we start looking beyond the current conditions. Insofar, we have only observed animals behaving in a very hospitable climate, especially when it comes to marine life. Over the years most animals have adapted extremely well to survive on this planet. Unless something drastic takes place they’re not going to change. Things are completely different when it comes to humans. We definitely had to increase our brain power to cope with a relentless environment that is completely different than anything we might have experienced on this planet. In fact, intelligence and awareness led us to evolve physiologically into the shape we are in, and not the other way around. In that, our thinking faculty was not something acquired after our physiological evolution, it is something we had developed along the way as a tool to help us communicate with other individuals. Take this observation and compound it with the fact that our physiological evolution did not take place on earth and you come up with a theory that is the opposite of what Darwinism seems to project. Darwin may have his theories, but let’s not forget another important theory which postulates that necessity is the mother of all inventions. Intelligence was invented for there was a need for it. A polar bear is well equipped to survive in the extreme climate of the arctic; however, it resorts to hibernation during the warm season. The climate where such a tactic could be irrelevant may be somewhat similar to the arctic or ant-artic; with one difference: the seasons are much longer. The cold period could last years; and a hot spell could even last longer. Heavy coats, hibernation or any other tactic are not going to be useful. Long before you evolve from low life form such as insects; you begin to develop a large brain that is going to afford you the collaboration of other members of the species. In fact, intelligence among most species would be the norm, and since communication is a crucial element to coordination, most species would have been able to develop some kind of a language at a very early stage of their evolution. Weather conditions on earth give no reason for any species to trade off so much of its physical or physiological faculties for more brain power. An evolution of this sort does not take place under any circumstances known to any terrestrials. You don’t spend millions of years preparing to fight off predators by developing a strong body just to turn into a weaker species. Similarly speaking, you don’t shed a coat that has protected you for millions of years from the ravages of the elements in favour of a useless one, unless, of course, you have acquired the brain power that is going to compensate for the physical loss. The size of the brain has not changed at all ever since the first human appeared on this planet. The demand of survival as a hunter or food gatherer does not require a large brain similar to the one early humans possessed. Clearly for the brain to become larger there had to be a need for more brain power. This only happens when the brain starts to deal with more complex issues other than hunting and food gathering. The fact that the first earthly humans had a much larger brain than needed, and the fact that even now we only utilize on average about 20% of our brain power, lead me to say that any theory linking us to a species that had originated and evolved on earth cannot be convincing. Furthermore, an assumption as such leaves us with too many unanswered questions. First of all, the tools used by early humans on this planet did not require the development of the agile
