Is the Human Mind Unique?
Scientists from many different fields gathered to discuss cognitive abilities often regarded as unique to humans including humor, morality, symbolism, creativity, and preoccupation with the minds of others. Emphasis was placed on the functional uniqueness of these attributes,
as opposed to the anatomical uniqueness, and whether these attributes are indeed quantitatively or qualitatively unique to humans.
(from carta.anthropogeny.org)
Skilled Performance and Artistry. Merlin Donald (Queen's Univ) opines that if one crucial adaptation had to be singled out as the signature move that started the human journey, he would nominate "mimesis," or body artistry, which is the platform on which all complex skilled performance, including language, has evolved. A capacity for refining skill started to evolve very early in the emergence of hominids, as testified by the existence of very ancient stone tools that predate the appearance of our species. Such tools cannot be made without a capacity to rehearse systematically and an ability to imagine an idealized performance.
| 7. Skilled Performance and Artistry |
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