What Makes You Human?

What makes us become human?

We share a lot of things with a lot of different species of animals, be that a bird, a snake, a panda and anything in between. Now obviously we have many differences too, but what makes us become a different species as a human and not just, lets say, a monkey with a weird haircut?

First of all let’s look at our basic needs. We need food, water, oxygen and sleep to survive. We therefore need functional organs to allow us to take in and utilize these things and we need working body parts to allow us to obtain these things. 

Great. But so do lizards…

So how do we differ from those?

Well, we reproduce differently. We carry children inside us instead of laying eggs and we actively drive to seek out mates to make them with. We also learn the concept of a threat and we react to it how we see fit by either fighting it or running from it. 

We’re getting closer, but don’t most mammals do the same?  

Okay, we need to go even further then and look at our higher executive functions. Things that mammals can’t do…

Well we can speak through complex language, form plans and be goal oriented, rationalize and control our emotions and how they make us act. We can reflect, imagine and we can perform fine motor skills. Can any other species do all that? 

Nope.

Great! 

So how do we achieve these amazing feats you ask?

We have an amazing bit of anatomy that only primates and humans have. The frontal lobes of the brain. 

This part of the brain is where all those higher executive functions start and the larger and more developed the frontal lobes are, the better those functions become. Adult human frontal lobes are significantly larger than that of an adult primate and therefore we see our uniqueness as humans thrive. 

Not all humans have the same sized frontal lobes though. Babies tend to start developing theirs at around 6-12 months old which then grows as they learn and gain new abilities like talking, remembering and controlling their emotions. 

Even adult humans' frontal lobe sizes differ, with those having smaller frontal lobes tending to regress into irrational and violent behaviors, poorer memory  and less expansive vocabulary. Fear not though. You can increase the size of your frontal lobe through various different means and you can certainly become better humans (more on this to come).

For now, I want to leave you with some things to ponder…

Do you know someone who’s frontal lobes probably aren’t as big as they should be? Are YOURS working well? And, are babies even human?!