Seven hypotheses for investigating the evolution of skills

1. that skills, at both the individual and group level, can be investigated through their information representation & processing requirements - in DNA and in the brain,
2. that there is an 'inner language', like a programming language, that represents skills,
3. that there are multi-individual complementary skills that enhance the fitness of a group, such as mating, hunting in packs, or herd-based defense against predators,
4. that the complementary skills are coordinated by a skill-based information exchange (communication) between the individuals,
5. that the evolution of skills at both the individual and at the group level can be investigated via information representation and information processing mechanisms,
6. that there is an evolution in the structure and functionality of the 'inner language' as well as in the information exchanges between coordinated skills
• Note: I speculate that Chomsky's universal grammar is a consequence of the evolution of the structure and function of this 'inner language'
• Note: I speculate that the variety of human languages is a consequence of the evolution in the structure and functionality of information exchanges
7. that learned skills can be passed from one generation to the next through mechanisms such as mimicry, i.e. that animal apprenticeship can function analogously to evolution,