Beauty of the Human Mind

No claws, no fangs, no extreme jaw power. What made humans climb up the food chain and transformed from the hunted to hunters? what made us evolve and populate the entire planet?

Our beautiful brain. It is complex, strange, yet it fascinates scientists as well as researchers to no end. It is our ability to adapt, learn and improvise that set us apart from other species. Our capability to communicate, our creativity, and the love of discovery are all important factors or contributors in our evolution. But what caused us "modern apes" to become what we are today?

Scientists have long debated long and hard over this matter. One logical explanation is the discovery of fire and easy availabilty of protein. Meat had always been a luxury for prehistoric humans (homo sapiens). However raw meat is not very easily digestable thus homo sapiens needed to chew for hours to break down raw meat into easily digestable pieces. Protein from the meat was pretty difficult to absorb. Furthermore, much time was spent on chewing rather than thinking. The mastery over fire gave homo sapiens a much quicker and safer way to consume meat. Meat cooked over fire was found to be easily consume and protein was absorbed much quicker than before. In addition, food that was cooked was found to be safer not to mention tastier to eat!!!

The structure of prehistoric humans changed during the period when fire was mastered. The jaw line of humans began to shrunk. The skull hoding the human brain also began to expand. The skull of the prehistoric humans started to look like modern hunmans.

Another explanation on the evoultion of the human brain is that red meat wasn't the only source of protein. Humans also consume fish which are rich in DHA as well as protein. With protein being readily available in the wide open sea, humans became smarter and smarter. We started to use tools, our language become more sophisticated. We developed culture and formed groups which eventually transformed into societies.

Time passes, our societies became more sophisticated, our tools became more advanced. We start to hunt instead of being hunted. We developed startegies to hunt. Our tactics improved tremendously. So much so we began controlling our own destinies. By gaining control over our environment. The human race grew strong and begin to flourish.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Our ability to learn is simply remarkable. Our creativity is undeniable. Our artistic capability is unbelievable. The human mind has certainly transformed itself into the master piece it is today. Yet, with modern ammenities and facilities, some people are not achieving as much as their predecessors. People today are getting "soft". They lose interest quickly, throw tamtrums, some are low in self esteem. While some are just plain lazy. Why are such negative traits present in this wonderfully evolved human race?

The answer may lie in medicine. As technology become more advanced, so is health care and medication. Babies with poor attributes or poor physique were rescued and allowed to live. Back in the olden days where medicine wasn't so advanced, these infants will die. In some culture such as Greek mythology, the spartans will inspect the babies and eliminate those who are deemed as weak. Thankfully this practice has now been ceased in the present day. However, due to negative thoughts and behaviour, many great minds have not reached their full potential. Does the performance of the brain gets better when stress is added? Probably. And just probably a bit of stress and pressure is needed to push the human race forward. However, humans are fragile. Too much stress may caused adverse effects such as anxiety disorders and post traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, the beautiful mind must be nutured and pushed to achieve its limit and maximum capacity.

The human mind is our only potent weapon. Use it or lose it. This can be found in active elderly and non active elderly. Non-active elderly usually lose their ability to relate and conribute to society if they continue to stop using their minds or are not actively engage in activities. We have the power to choose! Lets embrace and utilise our wonderful gift. Our beautiful human mind.