On Aug 7, 2011, at 4:29 PM, Miles Jackson wrote:
> Example: the fallacy that circadian rhythms are "hard wired". In fact, the sleep/wake cycles for mammalian species are a historically contingent product of evolution. Certain species had greater reproductive success with a night waking cycle (e.g., raccoons), and other had greater reproductive success with a day waking cycle (e.g., chimps). Over time, the circadian rhythms that helped a particular species survive and reproduce transformed neural anatomy and function.
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> Note however, that there is nothing permanent and immutable about the specific circadian rhythm of a particular species. If environmental conditions shifted, a different waking/sleeping cycle could lead to greater reproductive success, and the brains of that species--over evolutionary time-frames--would be transformed.
So, if someone were to say the circadian rhythm, or the language “instinct”, are “soft-wired” you would have no problem with it? “Soft wired” to mean that it ain’t changing in my brain, but perhaps in a future descendant’s version of a brain?
—ravi