Are we humans simply remodelled apes? Chimps with a tweak? Is the difference between our genomes so minuscule it justifies the argument that our cognition and behaviour must also differ from chimps by barely a whisker? If “chimps are us” should we grant them human rights? Or is this one of the biggest fallacies in the study of evolution? NOT A CHIMP argues that these similarities have been grossly over-exaggerated - we should keep chimps at arm’s length. Are humans cognitively unique after all?
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Can Humans Echolocate?
In chapter 2 of NOT A CHIMP I conclude that the fact that humans, birds and bats have all experienced evolutionary changes to the FOXP2 gene tells us as much, if not more, about the extraordinary neuro-muscular control of the pharynx that allows talking humans, singing birds and echolocating bats to produce the sounds, or ultrasounds, they make. Perhaps, in view of this, it is not so surprising to find this group of Spanish scientists helping to develop echolocation in blind humans, using a vocabulary of palate clicks. Apparently an American, Daniel Kish, was such a superb echolocator that he was awarded a certificate to act as a guide for blind people, while the acknowledged best human echolocator, Ben Underwood, died earlier this year.
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