What Sets the Human Race Apart from Other Species

What sets the human race apart from other species on Earth? The answer can be summed up in three words; cognition, language, and creativity. We have the ability to think and create. The human race communicates in a unique way.

Imagination is a powerful thing. We can form mental images, and through perseverance and combining cognitive forces with others, we can make those images reality. No species can create on the scale that we can. Sure, a beaver can build a dam, and a spider its web; but on a global scale? Imagine what a world like that would be like.

Conceptualizing is what we do. We have an understanding of what a spider is, and what a beaver is. We categorize them into groups by creating rules, called conceptual rules. With these rules, we are able to interact with the environment. One example of conceptualizing is the beaver. If not for the nature of the beaver we would have been able to come with the idea for a dam.

Language allows ideas to grow and flourish. While other species have methods of communication, we have the ability to communicate concepts, thoughts, and memories, in an elaborate fashion that transcends all other species on the planet. Language is what truly separates us from the beasts of the world. The ability to store language on various medium, allowing us to speak to future generations, is truly awe inspiring. However, if the current dominant languages falls out of fashion, then the current problem with uncovering the secrets of the past will persist; translation.

Collaboration is an important term used in problem solving. When the human race comes across things that need to be addressed, we create a task force to deal with it. We brainstorm, and think collectively to find solutions that did not exis...

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...eases. Likewise, the environment can affect things as well, not just family. What I mean is the actual environment, such as living near a nuclear reactor, or having a contaminated drinking water source.

Lastly we go beyond psychometric intelligence and into the fields of other forms of intelligence. Here is where multiple intelligences come into play, in what Dr. Gardener of Harvard calls “Frames of Mind”. He hypothesizes that we have eight types of intelligence, or, frames of mind. We also touch base with HAL, everyone's favorite A.I.; aka artificial intelligence.

In conclusion, the subjects of intelligence, cognition, creativity, and language provide us with the tool we need to be the masters of the world. We derive all that we are from these four aspects, and with each generation we progress, further discovering and pushing the limits and potential of humankind.