How did humans develop the ability to comprehend complex sciences?

[Cooky]

of all the mutations in ecology and biology, often seen multitudes of times throughout species, it seems odd that human beings are the *only* life forms able to build skyscrapers, spacecraft, and complex chemical based medicine. So why do we not see other species, living under circumstances similar to our ape ancestors, develop the same capabilities, when surely their needs were equal in necessity as that of our ancient ancestors?

If the ability to comprehend the complex sciences is an evolutionary example of something that has only occurred once on planet earth, then how rare it must be anywhere in the universe... But why? What other mutations do we see that have only occurred once, especially when considering that the mutation that allowed us the ability to comprehend the complex sciences is so dramatically useful.

So was it our arms, no longer being used for motion, and a need to put them to good use the cause that led us eventually to the sciences?

 

[Cooky]

Why don't we see microscopic life forms driving tiny cars, writing books and building structures, roads and electrical grids in their cities?

 

[Polymath257]

Well, it needs to be noted that this ability is incredibly recent and it isn't at all clear that it is beneficial in the long run. Go back a mere 400 years and very little of the sciences was comprehended. So this isn't a *genetic* change, but rather a cultural change that happened. We existed for thousands of years (actually hundreds of thousands, but who's counting) without building sky scrapers.

More interestingly, we seem to be the only species that uses complex language along with technology. That has allowed a huge amount of development of both. Other species that seem to have complex communication (whales, dolphins, etc) don't have the manipulative abilities for technology, while those with the manipulative skills don't seem to have developed complex language (yet).

As for our relatives, we don't know what the language capabilities of Homo erectus or other humans ancestors were. They did make and use complex tools, but don't seem to have made the leap to the type of quickly developing culture that we have seen in the last few centuries.

My guess? We had to get rid of a LOT of assumptions (religious, cultural, etc) before we could make the leap to modern science. And that took a fair amount of build up and time to get to.

 

[The Anointed]

of all the mutations in ecology and biology, often seen multitudes of times throughout species, it seems odd that human beings are the *only* life forms able to build skyscrapers, spacecraft, and complex chemical based medicine. So why do we not see other species, living under circumstances similar to our ape ancestors, develop the same capabilities, when surely their needs were equal in necessity as that of our ancient ancestors?

If the ability to comprehend the complex sciences is an evolutionary example of something that has only occurred once on planet earth, then how rare it must be anywhere in the universe... But why? What other mutations do we see that have only occurred once, especially when considering that the mutation that allowed us the ability to comprehend the complex sciences is so dramatically useful.

So was it our arms, no longer being used for motion, and a need to put them to good use the cause that led us eventually to the sciences?

How did humans develop the ability to comprehend complex sciences?

Through pain and suffering. Intelligence began when our early animal ancestors did something that caused them pain, and learned never to do that again.