#TheDragonsOfEden | Reviews of The Dragons of Eden in English Books| Hashreview

#TheDragonsOfEden

The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence is a Pulitzer Prize-winning The Pulitzer Prizes: 1978 Winners 1977 book by Carl Sagan. In it, Sagan combines the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and Read More..

by Carl Sagan

Ratings

Likes

Reviews

HASH INFO

Review# tag	TheDragonsOfEden
Review# tag
Hash title	The Dragons of Eden
Hash title
Description	The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence is a Pulitzer Prize-winning The Pulitzer Prizes: 1978 Winners 1977 book by Carl Sagan. In it, Sagan combines the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and computer science to give a perspective on how human intelligence may have evolved.Sagan discusses the search for a quantitative means of measuring intelligence. He argues that the brain to body mass ratio is an extremely good correlative indicator for intelligence, with humans having the highest ratio and dolphins the second highest,pp.38–40, hardback ed though he views the trend as breaking down at smaller scales, with some small animals (ants in particular) place disproportionally high on the list. Other topics mentioned include the evolution of the brain (with emphasis on the function of the neocortex in humans), the evolutionary purpose of sleep and dreams, demonstration of sign language abilities by chimps and the purpose of mankind's innate fears and myths. The title "The Dragons of Eden" is borrowed from the notion that man's early struggle for survival in the face of predators, and in particular a fear of reptiles, may have led to cultural beliefs and myths about dragons and snakes.In 2002, John Skoyles and Dorion Sagan published a followup to The Dragons of Eden entitled Up from Dragons.Skoyles, John & Sagan, Dorion. Up from Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence. McGraw-Hill, 2002, p. xi.
Description	The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence is a Pulitzer Prize-winning The Pulitzer Prizes: 1978 Winners 1977 book by Carl Sagan. In it, Sagan combines the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and computer science to give a perspective on how human intelligence may have evolved.Sagan discusses the search for a quantitative means of measuring intelligence. He argues that the brain to body mass ratio is an extremely good correlative indicator for intelligence, with humans having the highest ratio and dolphins the second highest,pp.38–40, hardback ed though he views the trend as breaking down at smaller scales, with some small animals (ants in particular) place disproportionally high on the list. Other topics mentioned include the evolution of the brain (with emphasis on the function of the neocortex in humans), the evolutionary purpose of sleep and dreams, demonstration of sign language abilities by chimps and the purpose of mankind's innate fears and myths. The title "The Dragons of Eden" is borrowed from the notion that man's early struggle for survival in the face of predators, and in particular a fear of reptiles, may have led to cultural beliefs and myths about dragons and snakes.In 2002, John Skoyles and Dorion Sagan published a followup to The Dragons of Eden entitled Up from Dragons.Skoyles, John & Sagan, Dorion. Up from Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence. McGraw-Hill, 2002, p. xi.

Created By

Admin

DETAILS

Name	The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence
Name
Authors	Carl Sagan
Authors
Translator
Translator
Genre
Genre
Series
Series
Number in series
Number in series
Language	English
Language
Country	United States
Country

PUBLISH

Story timeline
Story timeline
Pages	263 (first edition)
Pages
Media_type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Media_type
Isbn	0-394-41045-9
Isbn
Oclc	2922889
Oclc
Publisher	Random House
Publisher