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I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. Our Sparks, that is…
For the past few years, Alan Alda and our production team have been traveling the world, speaking to experts who have shared their visions about what make humans unique from all other animals. Different experts have different views, and they don’t all necessarily agree, but each new interview we’ve done has provided a little bit more insight into the evolutionary and neurological abilities that only we have.
You’ll see all this insight in the programs and the web-only video on the Human Spark site, but we’re also hoping that you’ll tell us what being human means to you. Drawings, photos, videos or text are all welcome, and we’re hoping for some really thoughtful and interesting responses. Do our brains make us human? Our language? Our imaginations or our belief? Visit the Share Your Spark submission page to get started.
Your responses will be posted on the web site and a selection of the best will appear on-screen when the series airs. For kicks, I’ll start things off with a Haiku:
Chimps show a few signs
Neanderthals never did
Insight defines us
- Jared Lipworth
Executive Producer, The Human Spark
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Insight defines us to ourselves; but it takes interaction for us to express our definition, which is then uniquely interpreted by others who define themselves through insight. That is why I am tempted to bring myth to bear on Neanderthals in response to your haiku; and also why I dare not, since the myth is nothing more than generational sense-making of the world, including the past.
That being said, the difference may be that animals are what they are; and we are multi-faceted individuals expressing ourselves in a collective that the animals are not interested in. (I think animals have interests, otherwise they wouldn’t search for food.)
We are spirit. Or energy, whatever you want to call it; and we don’t die. At least no myth that I know of says we have in the past.
We have temporary “bodies,” which we participated in the creation of, along with that bit IT thing I call “GOD reconciling itself.”
So while we are in bodies, and while this particular collective is evolving socially (since we are lucky enough to be on earth in temporary bodies during a renaissance) then I think we should think about exploring our sparks (our true selves) by exploring how we work in this environment we find ourselves in.
So, I like what you are doing. Thanks for asking.
I like this unique look at what makes us human. Seems both psychological and scientific. Well said!
You say I can share art or videos, but I don’t see how to do that on the site
This is wonderful! Can’t wait to watch it.
You can submit art or videos by following the simple instructions on our submission page. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/humanspark/share
We are not that special really, and perhaps it is our arrogance to think that we are that defines us. So we have thumbs to wreak havoc in the world…. I’d rather have wings. It’s not laughter, other creatures have that as well. I suggest it’s nothing more than the way our frontal cortex is wired to interact with the rest of our brains. Other creatures have their own unique brain functionings. So how’s about we get over ourselves and get on with learning how, as a species, to be responsible critters with the gifts we evolved to have.
I concur with Laura @ 11:14:53am … with all of our so-called advanced understanding we are not even able to communicate effectively with our closest genetic relative and other intelligent species here on our planet…that said, I love being human ! all the pain and pleasure that our brains are wired to feel makes this a fascinating lifetime indeed.
Maybe we’re the only species that thinks it’s unique, or even has a concept of ‘unique,’ or even has concepts at all instead of just paying attention to what’s really important – happiness. For a lot of species, happiness comes from eating other species, and for those species, happiness comes from escaping the predators. None of them gets what they want all the time, just like us, but they don’t let it ‘bother’ them like we do.
Maybe extended unhappiness in the absence of problems is what defines humanity.
The uniqueness is the ability to look back at ourselves, the relative mind able to recognize the absolute mind and together recognize itself. Now, make a discussion for why chimpanzees don’t do the same thing and you have the answer as much as words can say it…
What makes us humans. Eh!!!!! The feeling one gets when hearing a little kid laughing, a pair of birds playing/caressing, and old couple holding hands