Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

(tool technology) Extinction of larger animals led to the human brain doubling in size as people developed necessary cognitive abilities to capture smaller prey
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...s-ago.html

KEY POINTS: Some 30,000 years ago, the human brain nearly doubled in volume. Scientists believe this was due to the extinction of larger animals they hunted. Larger animals were easy prey, but humans had to change skills for smaller ones. There was a shift in technology to more sophisticated hunting tools. The study found the human brain size decreased at the end of the Stone Age. Humans were shifting to agriculture and did not need such skills to survive. (MORE - details)

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CIA developed underwater robotic spy, 'Charlie the Catfish' in the 1990s
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...tfish.html

KEY POINTS: The Central Intelligence Agency designed 'Charlie' a robotic catfish in the 1990s, It was designed as an underwater spy that also collected data of the seas. Charlie is operated remotely using a line-of-sight audio and is fitted with sensors. The innovation paved the way for new, high-tech marine inspired robots. (MORE - details)

What did evolution have us sacrifice for bigger brains? Muscle, quickness, teamwork? Hardly think big animals were easy. Did we gain cunning & ingenuity by building better mousetraps? Ever try and throw a spear at a moving rodent? Harder than tossing one towards a wooly mammoth I would suspect. In think slow game was easy, not so for the faster variety. We had to think about catching something beyond our physical ability to overtake/outrun. I thought domesticated hunting canines came in around end of big animals.