Name: How language transformed humanity
Uploaded: 2011-08-03T15:15:37Z
Duration: 19 min 53 s
Description: Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of "social technology" that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool: cooperation.

Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved our complex system of language. He suggests that language is a piece of "social technology" that allowed early human tribes to access a powerful new tool: cooperation.

Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity

How language transformed humanity

Language, our neural 'remote control,' shapes minds and fosters cooperation, transcending mere communication to alter realities.

From Homo erectus' unchanged tools to humanity's technological leaps, social learning and language catalyzed our unmatched evolution.

Our linguistic diversity, both a tool for cooperation and a barrier to global unity, poses a dilemma in our interconnected world.