Why are we smart, i mean smarter then other animals or living creatures?
In: Biology
Humans have a large brain compared to their body size.
Having a large brain has two major downsides: 1. It requires a lot of energy and 2. It takes a long time to develop.
For #1, humans have the unique ability to cook our foods. Cooking helps break down foods, making the food easier to digest. Humans don’t need to devote as much of our bodies to digestion. This higher energy diet helps support our brain.
For #2, human babies are born quite premature because if a baby’s head is too big, they wouldn’t be able to exit mom’s pelvis. It takes quite a long time for a baby to develop into an adult. Our intelligence helps make up for this downside. Farming allows us more food per size of land. Language allows us to pass down knowledge from our ancestors. Tools give us more power than we have with our bodies. All of this allows us to raise our babies and continue reproducing.
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