By: Sean Collins
Have you ever wondered why humans are the species that seem “in charge” of the Earth? Why aren’t pandas, tigers, elephants, buffalo, or parrots the ones building cities, inventing cars, and controlling the other animals? Humans are not the fastest animal, we are not the strongest animal, or the biggest animal, but we are the “smartest” animal. It is the power of the human brain that has let us live on every continent on Earth and hold the fate of the planet in our hands. Many animals have brains that can control different parts of their bodies, but the human brain has a special region called the frontal lobe that helps us learn, think abstractly, and develop a sense of self. Other animals like cats do have frontal lobes too, but they are not as big as ours, so a cat might have a favorite food but it can’t learn algebra! For thousands of years, having a large brain helped early humans outsmart other animals and stay alive by learning to use fire, tools, and grow plants. As humans passed their knowledge down to their children, eventually humans have had the freedom to use our brain power to invent the internet, create medicines, and walk on the moon! I hope you think more about how the brain is what makes humans special, but as a final fun fact, some kinds of dolphins and whales have a part of the brain called the limbic systems (which controls social relationships and emotions) which is actually bigger than humans, so even if humans are better at things like building, these dolphins and whales form friendships and relationships that are even more deep than humans’ and we will never be able to know what it feels like to be connected like they are! This means that different brains are powerful for different reasons.