September 1, 2014
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmWhat Makes Humans Special? [Video]
Psychologist/primatologist Michael Tomasello explains
By Gary Stix
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Homo sapiens may be as much socialus as sapiens. See what I mean in my article, “The It Factor,” in the September Scientific American, which describes how chimpanzees and children just a bit beyond their second birthdays have about the same level of certain types of cognition—the kind of quantitative and spatial reasoning abilities that typically appear on IQ tests.
The psychologist/primatologist who spearheaded this research is Michael Tomasello of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Watch Tomasello describe his work during a video interview made in conjunction with his reception of the Dr A. H. Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science 2010.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
