UID:
almahu_9948043341602882
Format:
1 online resource :
,
illustrations (black and white)
ISBN:
9780262333214 (ebook) :
Content:
Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cousins, the great apes, behind. So the human brain is special, right? Wrong, according to Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Humans have developed cognitive abilities that outstrip those of all other animals, but not because we are evolutionary outliers. The human brain was not singled out to become amazing in its own exclusive way, and it never stopped being a primate brain. If we are not an exception to the rules of evolution, then what is the source of the human advantage? Herculano-Houzel shows that it is not the size of our brain that matters but the fact that we have more neurons in the cerebral cortex than any other animal.
Note:
Previously issued in print: 2016.
Additional Edition:
Print version : ISBN 9780262034258
Language:
English
URL:
MIT Press scholarship online
