• Question: if humans are closely related to monkeys/apes, are our brains and ways of thinking very similar too?

    Asked by to Lewis on 19 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Lewis Dean

      Lewis Dean answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      Yes, there are many similarities between our brains and ways we learn. There are also key differences. For example, our brain is about three to four times bigger than a chimp’s brain. It also has more folds in it, which means that the surface of it is even bigger.

      Humans are remarkable in our brain size and how the brain has evolved. It has allowed us to be very social and work together lots, to be able to solve complex puzzles by thinking about how it might work (rather than trying different things and seeing which works) and, of course, means we have language.

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