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The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis 196
Falsifier 4 — Demographic Mismatch
Test: If population expansions occurred tens of thousands of years before
symbolic artifacts, then cognition was not causal.
Threshold:
Probability: <10% under APH,
~70% under gradualism.
1. The Core Idea
APH says:
Symbols (art, language, rituals) gave humans the cognitive edge.
That edge allowed populations to expand.
So: symbols → expansion.
If we see expansion much earlier than symbols, then symbols can’t be the cause.
That’s why it becomes a falsifier.
2. The Threshold (20,000 years)
The formula:
t
_
expansion − t
_
symbols > 20,000 years ⇒ APH falsified
This just means:
Take the date when big population growth started (t
_
expansion).
Subtract the date of first sustained symbols (t
_
symbols).
If the gap is greater than 20,000 years, that’s too long.
Then APH falls apart, because symbols clearly weren’t the driver.
Why 20,000 years?
In archaeology and genetics, a 20k gap is large enough that one event can’t
plausibly explain the other.
For example, if humans doubled their numbers 90k years ago, but true
symbolic artifacts only show up at 70k, then symbols didn’t cause that
growth.