[eli5] Why did humans advance so far so fast while other intelligent animals did not?
In: 944
Well, there are a lot of theories, but the way I understand it it comes down to 3 things. (1) Being adaptable instead of specialized. This has to so mostly with diet and habitat. We can eat anything: meat, grains, plants, etc. Other animals can only eat certain things (Panda bears being an extreme example of this). Being adaptable means when the climate changes, you can move to a new area and be fine with a completely different diet. Intelligence is required for this because you need to figure out what is edible and what isn’t. A panda bear requires zero intelligence to figure out what to eat. It’s just instinctual to eat bamboo. Pandas would also go extinct quite easily if the bamboo went away due to changing climate, loss of habitat, introduction of a new predator, or whatever. It takes intelligence to adapt to a new habitat.
(2) being a pack-based predator species. Eating meat of course is far more energy dense than eating plants, and promotes the development of a bigger brain. Furthermore, that bigger brain facilitates communication between pack members during a hunt. Communication means increase tactics and strategy and allows for a more successful hunt.
(3) We are not strong individuals. We need to work together to survive. We need to improve our habitat. We need to strategize, prepare, and make tools. The ability to do these things developed from much simpler roots, but over time, those individuals who could do these things slightly better tended to survive and reproduce, leading to slightly smarter offspring. The fact that we really need a group/pack/community to survive means that those individuals who work selflessly with others for the best interest of the community will tend to survive more because they are valued by the community and protected by the community. Whereas more individualistic members who steal from the community for their own gain will probably be ostracized and ejected from the community— and most likely die. This is the origin of ethics. Good will and good behavior towards others. Putting the interest of others ahead of yourself. It ultimately helps you survive and helps your species survive.
P.S. Opposable thumbs really helps.
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