What separates humans from animals? The more we research animal intelligence and behavior, the more we see that we are not so different.
At one time, communication was thought to be the main differentiator, but research into chimpanzees, dolphins, and even prairie dogs has found that these animals are also capable of complex communication.
The use of tools was also once thought to be the main difference, but that too has been proven wrong. Chimps use sticks and rocks to find and eat food. Dolphins trap fish by making rings of mud. Even crows use their environment intelligently as a tool.
In Tokyo, crows use the flow of city traffic as a nut-cracker. They purposely drop nuts onto the street so that the passing cars will crack the nuts. They then wait for the traffic lights to turn red and collect their ready-to-eat food.
One area where humans do appear to be unique is our ability for higher thought. As far as we know, only humans have the ability to think about the past and the future. This ability allows us to plan and improvise like no other species. Our imagination also knows no bounds. That being said, thought is not something we always enjoy.
In fact, according to research at the University of Virginia, many people seem to find thinking unpleasant. In one study, people were put in an empty room with just a table and chair and told to think about anything they wanted for between 6 and 15 minutes. Afterward, they were asked to rate how much they enjoyed the experience, and most of them rated it negatively.
The researchers believe that we have become so used to constant stimulation that when we are left alone with no TVs, no cell phones, nothing to write with or read, and not even a window to look out of, we quickly become uncomfortable.
In a second experiment, people were put in the same distraction-free room and again told to think of anything they wanted, but this time they were given one possible distraction. They were left with a battery that they could choose to shock themselves with, and many of them did.
Earlier in the experiment, some participants said they would pay money to avoid being shocked, but once boredom set in, that idea went out the window.
Surprisingly, two-thirds of the men and a quarter of the women preferred mild physical pain to being alone with their thoughts. One man strangely shocked himself 190 times over the short time period.
Why anyone would prefer an electric shock to being alone with their own thoughts is a mystery. Perhaps the discomfort of boredom is what truly separates humans from animals.
What’s the difference between humans and animals?
Communication was once thought to be the main difference. But we now know that chimpanzees, dolphins, and even prairie dogs can use language.
The use of tools was also once thought to be the main difference. We now know that that too is wrong. Chimps use sticks and rocks to find and eat food. Dolphins trap fish by making rings of mud. Even crows use tools.
In Tokyo, crows drop nuts onto the street so that the passing cars will crack them. They then wait for the traffic lights to turn red and pick up their ready-to-eat food.
As far as we know, only humans can think about the past and the future. This allows us to plan like no other species. Our imagination also knows no bounds. That being said, thought is not something we always enjoy.
In fact, many people find thinking unpleasant. In one study, people were put in an empty room with just a table and chair. They were told to think about anything they wanted for between 6 and 15 minutes. They were then asked how much they enjoyed the experience. Most of them rated it negatively.
The researchers believe that when we are left alone with no cell phones, and not even a window to look out of, we become uncomfortable.
In a second experiment, people were put in the same empty room and again told to think of anything they wanted. This time they were given one possible distraction. They were left with a battery that they could choose to shock themselves with, and many of them did.
Earlier in the experiment, some people said they would pay money to avoid being shocked. Once boredom set in, that idea went out the window.
Surprisingly, two-thirds of the men and a quarter of the women preferred physical pain to being alone with their thoughts. One man strangely shocked himself 190 times over the short time period.
Why anyone would prefer an electric shock to being alone with their own thoughts is a mystery. Perhaps the discomfort of boredom is what truly separates humans from animals.
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