(Human - Chimpanzee) = 0.02
Or so the thinking goes. From Booklist,
Humans share about 98 percent of our genetic makeup with chimps, which would be impressive... if we could figure out what it means. We also share about half our genes with fish and about a third with daffodils, but almost no one argues that anything can be learned from fish and flowers about human behavior or that fish and flowers should have human rights.
So, just what is it about that elusive, last 2 percent, that stands between humans and chimps? In The Latest on Human-Chimpanzee Genetic Comparisons, Part 1 (of 2), Fuz Rana states,
Even though many evolutionary biologists consider the 99% genetic similarity between humans and chimps as a profound truth, it turns out to be largely useless information. The genetic similarity between humans and chimps doesn’t explain why there is such a fundamental biological and behavioral difference between us and these creatures.
Indeed, one does not have to be an evolutionary biologist to note that there are profound differences between humans and chimpanzees. Were one to classify a human as equal to "100" units, just what quantity would be expected of a chimpanzee? Well, it certainly depends on what the 100 units is being compared against (e.g., bacteria, minerals, mammals)? So, just what does 98% (or 99%) similarity really mean?
Also from Rana,
It turns out that there are numerous features of the human and chimpanzee genomes that differ significantly. And these genetic differences have the potential to account for the biological and cognitive disparities between our species and chimpanzees.
Surprise, surprise.
Natural process evolution is proposed as the mechanism responsible for the genetic similarity between humans and chimps. It's also proposed as the mechanism responsible for the genetic differences. Yet the notion of intelligent design, with the use of templates and intentions, will also fit the data currently available.
In this post, and in the future, I will list various attributes, studies, etc., which illustrate the true gap found in... The Last 2 percent.
Higher Social Skills Are Distinctly Human, Toddler And Ape Study Reveals
Apes bite and try to break a tube to retrieve the food inside while children follow the experimenter's example to get inside the tube to retrieve the prize, showing that even before preschool, toddlers are more sophisticated in their social learning skills than their closest primate relatives, according to a new report.
Uniqueness of Social Cognition in Humans
Without an extraordinary capability of interacting, communicating, and learning from social interactions no spiritual activity would be possible. The fact that even the most intelligent non-human animals lack the social interaction capability necessary to support spiritual activity while even toddler humans do provides evidence for the biblical doctrine that humans alone among all life on Earth are spiritual creatures.
Reading Process Is Surprisingly Different That Previously Thought, Technology Shows
Being able to read competently is one of the most important skills we need to function in today's fast-paced society. Analysing the way we read can offer valuable insights into how we process visual information. Scientists have been interested in the movements of our eyes while reading for forty years. However, until now most assumed that when we read both eyes look at the same letter of a word concurrently. Now ground-breaking research has shown that this is not actually the case.
When Are Toddlers Old Enough To Think About Out-of-sight Objects?
One of the most distinctive characteristics of humans is probably one you don't think of very often -- the capacity to learn based merely on what someone tells you. Researchers are attempting to discover when when we become capable of revising our mental representations of objects or situations based solely on what someone tells us.
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