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timtyler comments on Nature: Red, in Truth and Qualia - Less Wrong
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I hypothesize that, for whatever reason, there was a runaway selection in humans but not chimps for better modeling of others' behavior. Maybe our societies were more complicated, or less based on simple violent conflicts, than theirs. But of course, I only raised this as a suspicion.
I'm having a tough time seeing how the gene-level selection works in your account, though. Genes don't inherently care about memes, and larger cranial capacity comes with major disadvantages that require overwhelming genetic selective advantages to compensate.
Memes have benefits to genes. Copying avoids the costs of individual learning. It allows you to obtain lots of good ideas quickly, by copying them from successful individuals. Good ideas are important. They can be mastery of fire, hunting techniques, love songs or negotiating strategies. Thus we have meme-spreading adaptations: our incessant babbling, our ultrasociality.
These costs apply equally to any theory of human cranial expansion. Not much besides the enormous benefits afforded by cultural inheritance can reasonably expect to pay for them.
Certainly our big brains are the result of a sexually-selected arms race - but what was sexy was a GSOH, being able to sing love songs, etc. IOW, the products of cultural inheritance.