Humans have the largest brains of any animal. It represents one fifth of our total energy consumption. But what is good? Does the brain help to reproduce from an evolutionary point of view?
This is an intuitively attractive hypothesis. You can say that it is beneficial to find a reproductive partner with a large brain, because the chance of survival increases. And also in everyday life, very smart or creative people are often attractive. Think of famous artists.
appearance
However, the idea that we have a great brain capacity, creatively or cognitively, to attract friends is not a good explanation for brain development. For example, our brains were already very large before artistic or intellectual activities existed. Moreover, big brains are only partially associated with great intelligence. Birds, for example, have small brains and yet are among the most intelligent animals on earth.
Another problem: modern humans tend to be monogamous, and sexual selection is stronger when competition is greater. Think of competition between male baboons, only an alpha male can reproduce. Male baboons are much larger than females and the dominant male has a distinctive silvery back. In other words, it’s more about looks than about brain capacity.
We actually see it in many people. Young men and women prefer to pay attention to their appearance rather than their homework. They decorate each other mainly by their looks and how superficial they conduct a conversation, rarely because they can explain string theory perfectly.
Sources): Psychology Today
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