u/algebroni

Steven Krantz, who has an Erdős number of 1, deemed this story likely-to-be-true enough to include in one of his books.

What do an obsessive, unfeeling, slave-driving megalomaniac and the dictator of Russia even find in common?

tl;dr: throwing rocks —> big brain time —> language —> it's joever for non-humans

Abstract

Did bigger brains for more precise throwing lead to language, much as feathers for insulation may have set the stage for bird flight? Throwing rocks even at stationary prey requires great precision in the timing of rock release from an overarm throw, with the "launch window" narrowing eight-fold when the throwing distance is doubled from a beginner's throw. Paralleled timing neurons can overcome the usual neural noise limitations via the law of large numbers, suggesting that enhanced throwing skill could have produced a strong selection pressure for any evolutionary trends that provided additional timing neurons. This enhanced timing circuitry may have developed secondary uses for language reception and production.

outjerked by B*atles stans