Intelligence, Language, Morality: The Neuroscience of Human Endurance (The GOOD Book) (General Interest Books on Neuroscience) (Book Review‪)‬

WITH RECENT REPORTS of primate altruism and even superior short-term memory skills among young chimpanzees, not to mention the ability to plan for the future demonstrated by the rock collector and hurtler chimp, Santino, one might wonder what it is exactly that makes the human brain so special. Many answers are by no means clear, but in Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique (Ecco, 2008), the exceptionally influential neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga confronts the deep mysteries of cognitive evolution as well as anyone could for a general audience. Many presume the great size of our brains to have made the human difference. But recall that extinct Neanderthal brains measured an imposing 1520 cubic centimeters, while ours average only 1340. Nor can the mere ratio between cranial capacity and body size account for the distinction. As Gazzaniga points out, the human brain weighs in at a mere two percent of its body weight whereas the pocket mouse brain comprises a full 10 percent of its total heft.