Human Evolution- A Snapshot

Sometimes I find myself asking how did we, as humans evolve in the alpha-species of Earth?

Yeah, opposable thumbs are awesome but really, what makes us so fabulously different from, say,  Bubbles the Chip?

Well, I think I might just have the answer.

At some point today my 3 y.o. (a.k.a. “Baby Lug”) showed up naked and pantless.

Bear with me, this really is about us evolving, not de-volving.

Promise.

When asked where his pants were, he replied, “They were drying.”

When asked why his pants were drying, he replied, “‘Cause they were dirty.”

When asked why his pants were dirty, he replied, “I washed them.”

I know it doesn’t make sense, he is, after all, THREE.

It would seem  that Baby Lug, upon determining his shorts were dirty, took it upon himself to take them and his underpants off, march to the bathroom and wash them in the toilet. Then dried them in the sink.

This kid is killing me.

When he’s not metaphorically killing me, he’s impressing the hell out of me.

Messy yes, but you have to give the kid credit- that was some creative problem solving.

Sure the opposable thumb is cool. But I’d also think human’s aptitude for creative problem solving is right up there for pushing us up the evolutionary ladder.

Monkeys have been known to use simple tools– trimming a stick to probe for ants– but what does it take to a look at that same stick and see the foundation for an arrow? The handle of an ax? Or part of a shelter?

It’s the same higher-order creative thought processes that tells one person, a long-long time ago, to see tree sap and, think if it was just boiled down, it’d make maple syrup.

Or a 3 y.0. that the path to clean pants is just a toilet bowl away.