Human Behavior

The item that makes us human is not what most people think. Some might say language, but many other creatures have demonstrated language use. Others would say culture. Our closest relatives (apes) demonstrate culture that is almost as complex as our own. It is certainly as stratified. There are also people that propose that the idea of sacredness is innately human. This is a tough one to either prove or disprove, but it does make for very interesting discussion and thought. Right now there is only one item that is universally agreed upon as being a "human defining behavior" and that is habitual bipedalism. The fact that we as humans walk on two legs almost all the time is what makes us different from the other creatures in this great world. That is all. Sure we think of it as being a small deal. We want the gulf to be wider for one. We live this way all the time so it seems simple and nearly ridiculous to state that this trait is the most important of all. But after much study..... it is. The things that being habitually bipedal have opened up for us are amazing. For one, standing upright meant that we had our forelimbs free to use tools. It is easy to see the breadth of such an ability. As our arms and hands became less specialized for travel they in turn became more generalized and this allowed us to use them for a variety of things. To make an obvious point, think of the difference between a horses front left limb and your left arm. There are many of the same structures but the horse is extremely specialized to the point where the horse is really standing up on one very large toe that has a very large thick nail. The ancient ancestor of the horse had five digits just like us. His ancestors had three digits and now we have the common horse. This highly specific use (and therefor need) created a limb that was excellent for travel but was also ONLY good for travel and could never be used for anything else save for a bludgeon or scraper. For a less obvious example let us look at the chimp. The chimp's hands are built very much like our and that is logical as the are our closest living relatives. However, a chimps hands are very specialized for being able to climb trees and generally live their arboreal life. This makes their hand different than ours in a very important way. Humans and chimps share similar muscle structures in the hand and forearm but the difference is in where the muscles and tendons terminate. In a chimp there is a strong tendon and muscle group that runs through the forearm and to their first finger. This allows for a powerful grip when hanging and climbing from trees. But, in a human's hand this same muscle group terminates at the thumb. Such a small difference but it means everything. This change in structure is the reason that we can build, make clothing and manipulate small tools in general. The use of our hands and the entire structure of our arms was able to become the defining trait that they are because we did not need them for locomotion. Finally, walking on two feet allowed us to move vast distances in search of or following food, or for any reason at all. Because of our bipedalism we are the only animals that can run a marathon, or more dramatically, a 100 mile race! It is an extremely efficient way to travel along the ground and we have benefited from it for our entire existence. Such a small thing to be the defining feature of our entire species. Ultimately however, it means everything to being human.


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Now playing: Cake - Ain't No Good
via FoxyTunes

Ha ha...uh

So....

A cucumber and a mushroom are walking down the street and they meet Mr. McDonald's.

Mr. McDonald's says to the cucumber, "We don't serve whoopie cushions here."

But he says to the mushroom, "You look like a lucky mushroom," and walks away with him.


I guess it is funnier in the telling.