Re: Hominid Brain Size: Testosterone, DHEA, and Melatonin

Paul Myers (myers@netaxs.com)
Sun, 03 Nov 1996 09:49:45 -0500

In article <MPG.ce5d267105a631a989683@news.net66.com>, ahimoe@net66.com
(Albert Himoe) wrote:

> In article <55dtiu$osa@juliana.sprynet.com>, James Howard
> (phis@sprynet.com) writes:
>
> Much concerning a theory which relates brain size, DHEA, testosterone
> and human evolution.
>
> Darwinians, myself included, will have a hard time taking this theory
> seriously. What is selected for directly is not hormone levels or
> brain size, but behavior. Any given behavior is likely to be
> influenced by many biochemical factors, not just a few as implied by
> Mr. Howard's argument.

Agreed -- any theory that tries to reduce a complex, multi-dimensional
process like human evolution to a single, simple causative agent, like
testosterone, isn't a theory -- it's a cartoon.

-- 
Paul Myers Department of Biology
myers@netaxs.com Temple University
http://fishnet.bio.temple.edu/ Philadelphia, PA 19122