Cathedrals, symphony orchestras, and iPhones: the cultural basis of modern technology

Behav Brain Sci. 2012 Aug;35(4):231-2. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X11001920. Epub 2012 Jun 15.

Abstract

The distinctions drawn by Vaesen are plausible when we are comparing chimpanzees and human beings somewhere between the middle Paleolithic and the Neolithic. But since then new kinds of organization have vastly outstripped these neurological differences to account for the enormous advancement of human technology - from cuneiform to the iPhone - leaving our remarkable evolutionary cousins far behind.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cognition*
  • Humans
  • Psychomotor Performance*
  • Technology*
  • Tool Use Behavior*