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The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis 51
Fig 7.1 — Anatomy Readiness Over Time (300 ka → present).
Implication: Hardware reached high readiness (A4–A5) before cognition stabilized; the cognitive
regime (C-scale) remained subcritical.
4) Why Thresholds Fit (and Gradual Slopes Don’t)
Natural thresholds abound.
Neurons: inputs accumulate sub-threshold; only past ~
–55 mV does the
spike fire—all-or-none [Kandel et al., 2013].
Phase transitions: water cools smoothly, then flips to ice at 0 °C; sandpiles
avalanche after long quiet [Strogatz, 2015].
Evolutionary tempo: long stasis with punctuations—
“the expectation of
gradual transformation has been repeatedly contradicted by the fossil
record” [Gould, 1980].
Human record matches a threshold signature.
Before 70 kya: sparks (C1–C2)—pigments, beads, engravings—without
continuity [McBrearty & Brooks, 2000; Henshilwood et al., 2002].
After 70–50 kya: wide-area ignition (C4): figurines, music, cave art, ritual
packages that persist and compound[Mellars, 2006; Conard, 2009; Aubert
et al., 2014].
If cognition rose by tiny increments, we’d expect an even trickle of
increasingly complex artifacts from 300 kya onward. Instead: long flat, then
vertical.