From Bryn Glover
It is true, of course, that we possess nothing unique anatomically, physiologically or biochemically (24 May, p 28). What we do enjoy is a unique combination of features: our brain, capable of invention, deception and confabulation; our hands with their amazingly dextrous opposable thumbs; and our voice boxes with all the possibilities that Christine Kenneally identified in her article.
This combination has enabled humans to develop something that can truly be regarded as unique: it can fairly neatly be described as “civilisation”. No other animal is capable of planning its surroundings in the way that we can; no other asks such questions nor provides such answers that we do; and no other has ever developed to the point where it consciously changes the ecosystems of the planet.
Cracoe, North Yorkshire, UK
