[eli5] Why did humans advance so far so fast while other intelligent animals did not?

Question

[eli5] Why did humans advance so far so fast while other intelligent animals did not?

In: 944

Answer 1

Fire. Specifically the skill to keep one going.

All animals like cooked food. Many animals will dig around for the stuff in the remains of a wildfire. But some early hominid figured out the trick of keeping a fire going, controlling it, and cooking food on purpose.

Fire was just the start of externalizing digestion. It allowed for smaller digestive tracts and bigger brains, and bigger brains were needed to fully reap the benefits. Bigger brains to get better at controlling fire. Bigger brains to get better at managing all the new resources made available. Bigger brains to deal with the social consequences of rapid population growth.