Why are humans so intelligent? Helpless babies.

Relative to every other life form on earth, humans have an unrivalled intelligence. Why? This article from the Economist – “Human evolution: Of bairns and brains” – discusses an interesting theory from Steven Piantadosi and Celeste Kidd who suggest that “humans may have become so clever thanks to another evolutionarily odd characteristic: namely that their babies are so helpless”. A thought provoking idea, the article is well worth a read.

Of course, looking at the state of the world, we may not be as intelligent as we think. A more advanced life form might peer down from another planet or universe in disgust at the way humans treat each other and the planet.