In the context of evolution, is IQ an optimization problem?

 

Why did the genius bring a ladder to the IQ test?
Because he wanted to reach an even higher level.

Arun Kumar

If you are reading this then the neurons in your brain, the part that sits above your shoulders inside a round cavity of bones, are in a high energy consumption state.

Getting the visual signals through the optic nerve, comprehending, and understanding their meaning based on knowledge learned from past experiences, results in an electric storm of activity from the firing of the neurons traversing the breadth of the brain.

Brain. It turns out the brain is an organ with an inordinately high need for energy.

On average, the brain consumes about 20% of the body’s total energy, despite accounting for only about 2% of the body’s total weight. This high energy demand is primarily because of the brain’s continuous activity, which includes maintaining electrical signals, release and uptake of neurotransmitters, and other processes essential for its function.

The brain is an organ that is constantly receiving sensory data about the environment its host body is in. From that sensory data it is constantly weighing the pros and cons and deciding on what to do next.

The role of the brain is often equated with a prediction machine that takes in the data, evaluates it in the light of past experiences and decides on an option for its well being in the future.

Another basic function of the brain is to keep all the cells in the body functioning. To do that it constantly monitors inputs coming from all over the body and takes corrective actions as needed.

For all the work the one hundred billion neurons in the brain do to coordinate and manage trillion of cells in the body and maintain homeostasis so small perturbations do not become major crises, comes at cost.

The price of all this work is its energy demand.

Beyond its basic functions to keep an organism alive in a hostile environment and to enhance its chance for survival and reproduction, the brain also engages in cognitive excursions that although do not seem to bear a direct relation with its basic function but are still entertained. It is safe to assume that those cognitive excursions would also entail some energy cost.

Thinking about whether there is free will or not? That is going to cost me some additional calories.

How vast is the universe; what was there before the Big Bang; what is the meaning and purpose of my finite existence; what happens after my death are all intriguing questions. However, they are not of primary importance for survival and reproduction, and yet, are entertained at the expense of needing additional calories.

The point is that it is plausible that cognitive processes are not a free lunch and increase the brain’s energy consumption.

Following the same reasoning, it is also plausible that a brain with higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ), by carrying additional cognitive load, requires more energy for its sustenance.

In other words, it is plausible that a higher IQ will (or should) relate to a brain with higher metabolic rate. Would Michael Phelps of the IQ world need eight thousand calories a day to sustain peak performance of their brain.

If so, it presents an optimization problem for evolution to solve.

Higher IQ and intelligence that likes to grapple with weighty philosophical questions, which may have a questionable relevance for survival and reproduction, may be a waste of energy resources.

On the other hand, having a certain level of IQ is required for survival and reproduction and having a little bit of more than absolutely necessary will not hurt either.

However, neither too much IQ may be good nor too little.

Is there an optimal level of intelligence and IQ that the process of evolution will prefer and aims for?

Or put differently, in the context of evolution is IQ an optimization problem? Too little is not good for survival, and too much shall require additional energy for its sustenance, energy that has to be obtained from external sources that are being competed for.

It is a plausible proposition.

I do not know about you, the cognitive process to write this makes me feel burned out. It is time for an energy drink.

Perhaps Mango Lassi, I would reach for (that is Yoda Speak).

Ciao.

Note:

If you think I am making this up then it is not entirely a segment of my imagination. A Google search for “IQ and relation with brain metabolic rate” did bring in interesting suggestions on the subject, for example,

- Study: Brain metabolism linked to intelligence in young adults
- Intelligence and the brain’s energy consumption: what is intelligence?
- The relationship between intelligence and anxiety: an association with subcortical white matter metabolism

Winter Solstice - A Day of Hope

 

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” — Edith Sitwell

Arun Kumar

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, marks the day of the winter solstice, which is also the official start of winter in the US.

As a first-generation immigrant living here, it initially made little sense to me. I had been braving the cold since mid-October, and yet, winter was only just beginning. It felt as though those months of cold did not count.

But for me, the winter solstice is not the start but the end of winter.

The idea that winter starts on the day of the winter solstice is tied to the fact that the coldest days and months are still ahead. For some, it signifies the need to brace for visits from the polar express, blizzards, ice storms, and a twenty-day stretch of fog.

Besides gloom and doom of weather ahead, the arrival of the winter solstice is a hopeful day for me. It is an important psychological landmark that from this day on, daylight WILL NOT BE GETTING ANY SHORTER. I could not have said it any louder.

From this day forward, the length of daylight will creep upward by a few minutes a day initially, and then, at an ever-accelerating pace. About forty days from now by the end of January the length of daylight will be forty-nine minutes longer. For me, the prospect of longer days is a much more cheerful thought and holds the strength to overcome the negativity of coldest days being still ahead of us.

Winter solstice is a symbol that the worst is over. It symbolizes that darkness hit bottom and although the journey to the surface would be slow, and a sense of the comfort of days with longer duration of daylight will take a while to set in, life is now moving in the correct direction.

The winter solstice also brings with it the promise of another spring down the road, and universe willing, I will be around to enjoy the freedom of summer once again.

It is not that I do not like winter. I do. Winter is a wonderful time for introspection. It is a time when by the time December 21 arrives, the sun is already setting behind the bare trees by 5 pm and as the darkness sets in, it feels like I am safe inside the cocoon and the safety our home has to offer.

There may still be three more months of winter, and I may have to shovel snow, a task I’m not particularly fond of, but on the winter solstice, I know that each day will bring additional minutes of daylight. That thought alone is enough moral support to get me through the next three months of colder temperatures, gray days, and snow.

I hope you do not think I am odd for suggesting that today, rather than marking the start of winter, symbolizes its end. But if I do come across as such, I hope that somewhere in your mind, you can appreciate the psychological significance of the winter solstice and relate to my feelings.

Winter solstice is the day when being in the depths of darkness the only way forward is towards more light. For what more one can hope?

Ciao.

Do we or do we not have choices? Should I ponder?

 Free will: Do we or do we not have choices, that may be a question, but is it worth pondering?

Arun Kumar

It is a brilliant crisp day in autumn; a day of unparalleled beauty and serenity, with nature orchestrating a breathtaking palette of colors (and also emotions). The air is filled with a refreshing crispness that invigorates the senses and carries an aroma of fallen leaves that only autumn can bring.

Looking upward one sees the sky with a flawless shade of blue. The slanting rays of sunlight fall on everything in a warm, golden glow, casting long, enchanting shadows on the ground.

The trees, draped in color, stand proudly in the backdrop of the blue sky.

In this brilliance of an autumn afternoon, sitting in a car, I am driving listening to a psychology podcast and the topic is free will. The podcasters and his guest are discussing whether we have free will or whether we don’t.

It is obviously an important topic with implications for who bears the moral responsibility for actions, and by extension for the legal system as to how punishments should be framed.

Free will is also important for the smooth functioning of society. It is easier to manage a society and put checks and balances in place with the premise of free will as the foundation. Try managing a social structure when people are not responsible for their actions.

Listening to two people talk on the podcast, debate, and banter (often acrimoniously) various nuances behind the notion of free will, I am beginning to wonder who really cares about the subject matter. What segment of human society at this moment is thinking about the question of free will.

Entangled is that question is also the notion of equity. What fraction of humanity even has the wherewithal to ponder over such matters?

Given the reality of living and the amount of mental and physical resources it takes to keep our head above water, in large parts of the global population, people do not have the luxury to dwell on such issues.

It is not unlike the instance when I had realized that drinking a cup of earl gray on a winter morning with my hands wrapped around a warm cup hides a has lot more to it. My ability to do so is an outcrop of inequality; not many have the luxury to do so.

Even in the developed countries where people have financial wherewithal and have the luxury of discretionary time, it is so much easier to follow the path that requires least action than wondering about free will and its consequences.

Urges to contemplate free get trumped by the ease of engaging in social media, for example.

The podcast drags on, the discussion drifts into places that do not seem to be of any relevance to 99.9% of humanity. I am getting close to my destination and have to get off at the next exit and navigate through the neighborhood roads to get to where I need to be.

To focus, I reach out and turn off the podcast. Perhaps that was an act of my free will.

Our protagonists on the podcast can continue debating about free will in the ether. I have an appointment to keep, and it is more important than whether I do or don’t have free will. If I am late, and the penalty I have to pay as a consequence is weightier than the question of free will.

With or without free will, clocks will keep ticking, time will keep its unidirectional march, and I will remain mortal and will confront its consequences. Perhaps in another time and place the question of “free will” will hold a higher significance.

But not today.

Ciao.

Natalie asked, where should I go next?

 

It was the morning after the wedding

that went late into the night.

The floor told the story

of the nocturnal celebration

with a scattering of

petals of red roses

and of yellow marigolds,

some crushed, some bruised,

while some others

survived untouched, by sheer luck.

Looking at the empty hall,

Natalie, the event organizer, wondered,

"Now that this is over,

where should I go next?"