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Comment by csomar | Hacker News Reader

I think our growth to 8 billion was a consequence of technology advancement rather than our acceptance of each other. While I don't disagree with the parent that humans do exterminate each other, they seem to be also keen to assimilate the other into their "own" line.

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Maybe, but our tech advancement could only happen because of our acceptance of others and of cooperation. And I have not seen any evidence that neandertals and sapiens considered themselves that different, this is just an assumed thing from our limited knowledge.

> Maybe, but our tech advancement could only happen because of our acceptance of others and of cooperation.

Or maybe the technical advantage was driven by survival and desire to occupy/expand which eventually resulted in overall development (because you can only hide your advantage for so long) which lifted most of the boats resulting in conditions that make acceptance of others and cooperation easier. I would like to know large-scale examples of acceptance and co-operation when the world was being discovered, conquered, divided and shaped through occupation and wars.

Also, we are more peaceful species now, than 40 000 years ago.

On what do you based that? (Genuinely interested)

As follows: The distribution of already existing traits, changes pretty fast (20-50 generations is fairly much) when the environment and evolutionary pressure changes.

And, large parts of the planet, haven't been invaded and the men killed, women raped, the last hundreds of years, in some places not even the last thousand years. Then, violent traits (reproducing by killing all men in the tribe nearby, raping the women) start fading away. (Not noticeable in a single lifetime though)

Perhaps all that Neanderthal DNA we assimilated changed us. Cold-adapted mammals tend to be more cooperative within their species.

> Cold-adapted mammals tend to be more cooperative within their species.

Interesting, what are you basing that on? (Is it an observation you've made or is there any research paper for example)

But the neanderthals, that was about 40 000 years ago they started disappearing. That's so much time, so any more kind or more brutal traits they might have had, wouldn't matter any more. Evolution is pretty fast, 20-50 generations is fairly much, when it comes to changing the distribution of traits that already exist, from what I've read (both our own species and other). And seen, actually, about humans.

Personally I believe all other great apes were roughly equally violent, just not as intelligent.

Isnt autism and other traits from neanderthal related genes? When I grew up I was told neanderthals died out because they werent capable of making big tribes and adapting themselves.

So its just guess after guess. Now it seems non subsaharan people have some neanderthal dna, they were more capable than we thought and some theories say they could see in the dark

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