The novel idea once shared divides the groups members into those that can understand this abstract idea and those that cannot. Those that will learn and those that never can. This is all that is needed for specialization to slowly modify this group through evolutionary means. It is a reasonable assumption that this process over time would allow the selection of increased intelligence over, say, physical strength and even maybe health, that prior was the dominant determining factor before the development of language. It could also be assumed that in time language could equal and over take physical strength as the dominate trait, making language and its accompanying intelligence the eventual dominating factor in determining survival over time.

 

You have several unsupported ideas here if I understand you correctly. But most notable is that in reality health, strenght,and intelligence tend to be strongly positively correlated. It is only through specialization that some traits are forfeited in favor of others. Specialization affects individuals rather than groups.

 

There is some "unnatural" selection that occurs such as Napolean putting the tallest troops on the front lines but height and intelligence are not very closely correlated. Indeed, most unnatural selection is of traits not closely allied with intelligence. If man hasn't actually devolved in terms of intelligence as I believe it is only because women tend to select mates who are more intelligent than they.

Specialization affects individuals rather than groups.

 

If man hasn't actually devolved in terms of intelligence as I believe it is only because women tend to select mates who are more intelligent than they.

 

Ummm . . . . . wow