Hmm... You may have tied my noodle in a few knots with this comment, Frederick. :) I'll have to grab a caffeinated cup of coffee and get back to it. Notably your remarks concerning "coincidence," as I'm sure you're well aware that our high-northern-latitude ancestors evolved skin to gather solar more efficiently so far from the equator. Coming from a place with no star would seem a little tricky, as you're also well aware that thermodynamics runs downhill, so anybody anywhere needs a source. As a solar guy - which I stoutly salute! - you might like the ponderings of Brooks Adams, great grandson of Quncy Adams, great-great grandson of John Adams who wrote THE LAW OF CIVILIZATION AND DECAY. One of the great "why civs fail" books. In his intro, he makes the point that mental activity is solar powered through the long chain including plants etc. Maybe not so radical today, but he wrote the book in 1896. Theadore Roosevelt was so taken by Adam's hypothesis he lamented for 13 pages in one of that's day's most popular magazines.

Thanks again for your comments