# Key Points from Transhumanist and Technology Discussions

• Researchers discussed evolutionary mechanisms for human intelligence, debating whether direct selection, mate choice dynamics (including "bride price" practices), or social structures drove cognitive development, while criticizing existing theories like Dunbar's neocortex-social group correlation as inadequate explanations.

• A study on artificial selection in guppies demonstrated that brain size could be increased by 9% after just two generations of selective breeding, prompting discussion about why general intelligence remains rare in nature despite its advantages, with factors like metabolic costs and developmental requirements considered.

• The group explored the relationship between brain size and intelligence, noting that human brain size has decreased over the past 20,000 years, with competing explanations including self-domestication, agricultural diet changes, and reduced selection pressure through social structures.

• Participants shared research on universal psychometrics for Turing machines, proposing frameworks for measuring intelligence across different systems, including the concept that any universal Turing machine has maximal potential intelligence.

• The conversation examined DIY silicon fabrication methods like focused ion beam etching and digital mask projection as potential garage-level approaches to chip manufacturing at micron scale, alongside discussions of Unix-like systems for microcontrollers and IoT devices.

• Security concerns for IoT devices were highlighted, particularly regarding cryptography implementation, with debate about hardware versus software approaches to encryption in resource-constrained embedded systems.