Freaks of Nature

"We are—all of us—freaks of nature. We don't generally see ourselves this way, of course. After all, being human, what could be more ordinary than a human being? But it turns out that our personal (and biased) impressions that we are unremarkable simply don't stand up against the plain objective facts. The way we walk, for example, teetering on long, paired stilts of articulated bones, is unique among mammals, and as preposterous in its way as elephant trunks and platypus feet. We also communicate by tossing oddly intricate noises at one another, which somehow carry complex packages of feeling, thought, and information. We share and understand these sounds as if they were scents drifting on the wind, and our minds special noses that sniff the fragrance of their meaning. Using them we are able to change one another's minds, even bring one another to tears. We also invent, to the point of being dangerous, incessantly bending the things, living and otherwise, around us to our own ends. Because of this habit, we have, for better or worse, created national economies, erected the pyramids of Giza and Chichen Itza, fashioned exquisite art, sculpture, and music, invented the steam engine, moon rockets, the digital computer, stealth bombers, and "weaponized" diseases. Nothing on the planted seems to escape our urge to remake it. These days we are even tailoring genes to remake ourselves."

Excerpt from Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human, by Chip Walter.