Popularizer of science Evgenia Timonova: what distinguishes man from animals

Genetically, we are 98% similar to chimpanzees. But for some reason, monkeys have not reached the same level of development as humans. Journalist and popularizer of science Zhenya Timonova told Boris Vedensky, why animals have less stress and what role speech played in evolution. We have prepared a summary of the conversation about what distinguishes man from animals.

Extremely developed speech functions

Even Darwin believed that the organisms of humans and animals perform the same functions and differ little. Except the language.

Animals can communicate with their relatives by sounds

It has been proven that dolphins, monkeys, and even ants have their own language. The main function of animal language is to communicate what is happening now, to warn of danger, to tell where to find prey.

Zhanna Reznikova, a biologist and one of the world's most famous experts in the field of animal behavior, conducted an experiment with ants.

The scout insects were offered sweet water, but it was far from home. The ants returned to the anthill to tell the workers where to go for prey. But scientists erased the pheromone trace of the scouts. Therefore, the workers could not go for food, guided by the smell of relatives. Then the scouts simply explained to the workers where to go, where and how many times to turn so as not to get lost. And they returned with booty.

This means that even ants have abstract thinking, and the ability to simple count, and elementary speech.

The language of monkeys is even more developed. Scientists have so far recorded three different words that monkeys use to communicate about approaching predators: these are “snake”, “leopard” and “eagle”. The ways in which one needs to be saved vary greatly, so three different words are a must for monkeys.

But human speech fundamentally different from the language of animals.

Humans can create imaginary worlds

A person can describe in words not only what is happening right now. He talks about the past and the future. Tries to anticipate what might happen. Dreaming and contemplating. Describes scenarios that you would like to avoid.

All these events are not in reality, and maybe they will never happen. It turns out that people create imaginary parallel worlds with the help of speech.

But the main difference between human language and animals is that human speech is able to describe not only the world, but also itself. This is evidenced by the emergence and development of linguistics - the science of language.

Increased brain size

Over 2 million years of evolution, our brain has tripled - from 0.5 to 1.5 kg. Scientists believed that such growth happened because a person began to use tools. But this hypothesis was not confirmed.

Capuchin monkeys also know how to use primitive means that make life easier for them. Like the New Caledonian ravens, they are birds of a highly developed intellect. But their brain size is not growing.

The main reason why our brains have grown so much is the complex speech that only humans have. In humans, the brain is not only the largest in comparison with primates close in genotype, but also the most expensive: 20% of all energy is spent on its needs. But in the course of evolution, only those changes are developed and preserved that are beneficial to the species. This means that human speech is a very important civilizational advantage.

Developed abilities for self-expression

Animals are familiar with aesthetics and ready for creativity. For example, light and fragile birds with beautiful plumage are ill-suited for a fight. Therefore, their evolution took a different path. Their struggle for dominance is complex rituals, beautiful mating dances, outward expressiveness and beauty. This is their self-expression.

But that's not all. As a result of experiments with monkeys, scientists saw that when brushes and paints are available to primates, they like to draw.

A person has a much greater capacity for self-expression. Only people can create complex systems of images filled with emotions. Speech development also helps with this. For example, a person can create a statement from individual words, the meaning of which is much greater than the simple sum of the meanings of each word. Moreover, in the brain of everyone, the statement gives rise to its own image, which differs from the pictures that have arisen in the minds of other people.

This is how people create and develop fiction and poetry.

Ability to remember traumatic situations

Animals get into an unpleasant situation, gain experience, learn a lesson and live on. Now they know how to behave in such circumstances. They no longer remember what happened - there is no need.

Man is able to remember unpleasant episode for years.

The animal perceives only facts. Man creates a story out of every event. If he was offended, he begins to twist this situation endlessly. “A classmate in third grade said something bad to me. Why did he do it? He probably didn't respect or appreciate me. And how to fix it?

The event has long ended, gone from reality. But a person remembers and experiences it hundreds of times. He lives in a parallel world created from images. Therefore, people have much more stress than animals. And diseases associated with stress.

Children's traits in appearance and behavior in adults

The human species is juvenile. This means that the behavior of adult representatives of the species is increasingly becoming similar to the actions of young individuals.

If we compare humans with chimpanzees, we can see how adults behave differently. With age, monkeys become calm and even sullen. And many people remain curiosity, a penchant for play, a desire for new experiences, an interest in studying the surrounding world. That is, they behave like youngsters.

This is our civilizational advantage. The longer childhood lasts, the later old age comes. Therefore, man has become a long-liver among primates genetically close to him and is actively studying the world around him.

Increased desire to imitate one's pack

To learn how to live in the real world, you need to repeat the actions of those who are older and more experienced - this is an evolutionary law.

Conformity is a property necessary for survival and learning

Man is a being conformal. He changes his assessment of current events or his behavior under the influence of another person or group of people. This is the price that each of us pays for the opportunity to be among "our own" - in the team, without which we will not survive. If we do not coincide in our actions with those around us, an alarm signal turns on in the brain: “This is a mistake! You're in danger!"

If there is no one nearby who would become a model of behavior, a person stops in development. An example of this is Mowgli children, who imitated completely different species, so their intelligence is much inferior to ordinary people.

But here, too, people have an important advantage. When we grow up, we ourselves choose who is “ours” for us, in which team we would like to gain a foothold and who to imitate.

For some, “their own” is the village where the person was born. Or guys who support Spartak. Or people prone to critical thinking and following scientific discoveries. The mechanism for choosing your flock is also fixed evolution.

Nonconformity and rebellion are also types of conformism

Each of us does not agree that he is a conformist. Everyone is sure: I am not like that, I am independent, I don’t care about those who strive to become like others.

But in fact, nonconformism is a variation of the same conformism. The one who considers himself a rebel simply chooses the same rebels as his flock. And inside they imitate each other. If a punk comes to his buddies in a white silk jacket, and not in a leather jacket, he will immediately face condemnation.

It remains only to accept: conformism is an indispensable condition for the existence of society.

Selflessness and altruism, even to the detriment of one's own interests

All primate brains have a region called the striatum. It regulates muscle tone and is responsible for the efficient functioning of some internal organs. He is also responsible for the creation of conditioned reflexes and some features of our behavior.
It depends on the striatum whether a person will behave altruistically or choose a selfish path.

The striatum accumulates the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine. To put it very simply, when there is more dopamine, the opinion of the group is more important than self-interest. If there is more acetylcholine, then the body seeks to satisfy internal needs.

Chimpanzees have a lot of acetylcholine. They have a family, they can be friends and are able to help others. But if you have to choose, in most situations, chimpanzees will prefer their own interests.

Only a person in the striatum can dominate dopamine, and so much so that he is ready for the sake of his group to forget about personal needs. He acts in the interests of his pack and enjoys it. This is how the mechanism of evolution works: if you have done something useful for the survival and development of the species, you will certainly receive a reward.

For man, selflessness and altruism are qualities that evolution has shaped and consolidated.

The ability to create new life strategies in changing conditions

The proverb “Everyone ran, and I ran” from the point of view of evolution is a model of correct behavior that helps to survive. In the wild, sometimes there is no time for reflection. You see that your herd is running past - and there is no time to find out why the relatives broke away and whether you want to be like everyone else. Perhaps there are predators or an avalanche behind. So, you have to move along with the herd, otherwise you may die.

But this law ceases to work when environmental conditions are changing. This is happening right now. The situation in our world is transforming before our eyes, and those strategies that helped to live and develop are losing their effectiveness. Much of what worked 300 years ago is no longer useful.

In such conditions, being like everyone else is a maladaptive strategy. That is, interfering with adapting to the situation. No one knows how to act, and there is simply no one to repeat after. It turns out that we need to create new rules.

It's good that we understand this. So the evolution continues.