20220610 : bottleneck
Short while ago, I wrote about the bottleneck for the brain. But seriously, why did we evolve this way? Almost all land animals have a big body, a reasonably big head and a narrow neck connecting the 2, with the head controlling the body. I get the utility of the neck which allows us to look around, but isn't it an expensive trade off to have such a narrow point of failure? What was it on land that it was necessary for us to evolve this way. Most aquatic creatures have no neck - fish, sharks, whales, dolphins, etc - the list is very long. Surely having a robust link between the brain and rest of the body has its advantages. I think the octopus is one of the most neurologically advanced creatures. Its entire body is connected to the brain via multiple links - so much so that it can change colour to match its surroundings without having to see. It basically sees from its skin too. What is it on land that needed us to evolve the neck???