Page 171 - (DK) How to be a GENIUS?

Instinct and thought
For a shark, the taste of blood in
the water means only one thing—
food! For a human, it could mean
mea
several things: “Have I cut myself?
my
Is it someone else’s blood? Where
od
is the closest doctor? Will a shark
Wi
ff
enc
f
er
detect it? Help!” The difference ise is
esn’t giv
that a shark doesn’t give the blood
th
ty
t
to
i
vi
t
ty
Human creativity took
t
ea
cr
rea
vi
vi
i
ti
ti
to
to
much thought but acts on instinct. H H H u m a n cre tivit t o k
ought
tin
ns
By contrast, humans tend to think
ontr
nk
wa
eap
rwa
a great leap forward
ap
rw
ea
rea
fo
rd
ou
about everything and may think so a g re t l ea fo rw rd
much that they suppress instincts
mu
ro
ea
around 40,000 yearsrs
that are crucial to survival. a ro u n d 4 0 , 0 0 0 y ea rs
p
o
o
f
e
ago, possibly because of
ag ag
o
s
,
b
y
ec
ec
l
b
s
s
i
u
a
ls
u
ls
l
improved language skills.s.
i
ag
ag
k
i
m
s
improved language skills .
ro
ro
ved
l
ve
e
n
g
p
a
ed
d di t fth bh i
f thi f
M Most of the behavior of this fear
b i h it di
ti
t rt ther than conscious thought
driven by inherited instincts rat
rsome great white shark i
rsome great white shark is
ther than conscious thoughts.
mans
r
The first hum
did we
get so
Why y and when did we g g
n did we get so
inte elligent? Our big br rains
our
pr robably evolved as o
ually
s social nature gradu
drove us t to develo
drove us to develop p
drove us to develo
language. The abi ility
became
to talk and plan b
useful, so smart t people
more suc
were more successful
were more succ
were m more succ
ore
a
and had more ch ildren.
en
ms to have
T This process seem
gi n rise t st human
iven rise to the firs
sp habil lis, whi
habilis, which
pecies, Homo habil
ev volved from a more
e primitive
apelike ance
apelike ancestor a around
These dancing or hunting figures were painted on
These dancing or hunting figures were painted on
2.3 million years ago.
2.3 million years
3 million years
ago
the rocks of the northern Sahara Desert long before
the land became a desert.
Intelligent ancestors
Hoomo habilis
H H By 160,000 years ago, our own species—
Hom
wn
Knnown asas Homo habilis,
be
orr “handy man,” because e e Homo sapiens—had evolved in Africa, and by
”
ca
u
se
thhey were the first to 60,000 years ago, humans had spread across
m make stone tools.
most of the globe. Compared to humans today,
t of the gl
obe.
mitiv
these people led primitive lives, but they needed
e liv
es,
to be smart to survive. Studies of their skulls
their sk
show that their brains were probably just like
ours, and they would have been just as capable
of operating complex devices like computers if
they had them. They have left evidence of their
intelligence in the rock art that still survives in
the places where they lived.
p
plac
the pla es wher e the y liv ed.
the
169
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