You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
Some human species had larger brains, yet the brain requires a huge amount of energy and complications during childbirth.
Human children birth favoured premature birth - smaller skulls were easier to deliver on the birth canal. Contrasting to other species, human children require longer time to become self sufficient - therefore creating strong social ties & network was a necessity for survival - as they say, “it takes a village”.
“Most mammals emerge from the womb like glazed earthenware emerging from a kiln–any attempt at remoulding will only scratch or break them. Humans emerge from the womb like molten glass from a furnace. They can be spun, stretched and shaped with a surprising degree of freedom.”
Unlike any other animals, when human domesticated fire, they gained control over a limitless force outside of their body.
Whereas chimpanzees spend five hour chewing raw food, human only need 1 hour for cooked food - in modern time, even less.
Now think of what you can do with those extra 4 hours. And since we are at it, why not develop bigger brains and smaller intestine.
<aside> 💡 Human ascended on the top of the food chain so quickly that the ecosystem was not given time to adjust. Moreover, human too failed to adjust.
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Our language evolved as a way of gossiping. We are social animals, social cooperation is our key for survival and reproduction. To know who to trust, who is a cheat, who’s a thief, is fundamental in developing a complex society.
“There are no gods in the universe, no nations, no money, no human rights, no laws, and no justice outside the common imagination of human beings.”
Large number of strangers can cooperate successfully by believing in common myths. Two stranger, can collaborate when they both belong to a mythical tribe; that being religion, a country, a jurisdiction and so on. Myths provide us the ability to create tribes and factions to belong to.
<aside> 💡 Ever since the cognitive revolution, humans have been living in a dual reality. On one hand the objective reality of rivers, trees and lions; and on the other hands the imagined reality of gods, nations and corporations. As time went by, the imagined reality became ever more powerful and now the very survival of rivers, trees and lions depends on the grace of imagined entity such as the United States and Google.
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