Reasons Why Humans Are Unique

Man is a mammal and belongs to the class called primates. Primates share common features such as:

1. Hair or fur on some parts of their body.
2. Give birth to young ones alive and the young are fed with milk from the mother’s mammary glands
3. They have nails on their hands, and can stand upright or erect.
4. Apart from all these shared characteristics of primates, man is unique due to his highly developed brain that enables him to reason and solve problems. This constitutes his intelligence.

Unique Characteristic of Human Being

Reasoning

The highly developed brain of man enables him to reason, plan and solve problems better than other animals. The highly developed brain gives man the following:

1. Ability to reason, think, learn and remember things.
2. Ability to developed language communication and power of speech.
3. Ability to control the environment and use it to his advantage.
4. Ability to handle tools and easy manipulation of things with his fingers.
5. Ability to socialize with others, love and sympathize with his fellow man.
6. Ability to know what is right and wrong.
7. Ability to stand erect and walk on their two legs, etc.

The Brain of Man

The brain of man is enclosed in a bony case called the cranium (skull) and it is divided into three regions namely:

1. The fore brain: This is where the cerebrum (the largest part of the brain) of the brain is located. It is the centre for voluntary actions, conscious sensation, sense of smell, reasoning, intelligence, memory speech, etc.
2. The mid brain: This connects the fore and hind brain and controls the eye muscles and posture.
3. The hind brain: Is made up of the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata. The cerebellum controls muscular activities of the body, hearing vision, taste and smell, etc. The medulla oblongata controls body functions such as respiration, circulation, reproduction, excretion, etc. it is located on the hind region of the brain.

Problem Solving

The highly developed brain of man enables man to think of making tools and coordinate the hands as well as manipulate tools for solving some of his problems such as farming, fishing, hunting, washing, cooking, building, repairing of machines equipment, driving, etc.

1. The problem of movement was solved by the production of cars, boats, aeroplanes, etc.
2. Cooking by the use of stoves and gas cookers.
3. Shelter by building houses.
4. Farming by using machines like tractors.

Intelligence

Intelligence can be defined as the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, think rationally and deal effectively with his environment. Intelligence changes overtime and develops with age. It is inherited but requires environmental factors for it to develop fully.

Types of Intelligence

• Scholastic intelligence
• Social intelligence
• Business intelligence

Intelligence can be measured by using the test formula by Weschler.

   I.Q = M.A   x 100

             C.A

I.Q     = Intelligence Quotient

M.A =   Mental age

C.A   =   Chronological age

The intelligence quotient of a child is the ratio of his mental age to his chronological age multiply by a hundred. The mental age of a child is the age of which a child is operating educationally. For instance, if the average score of a 6 year old child in a given test is 10, then the test score of ten is equivalent to a mental age of 6. Chronological age is the actual age in years from birth.

Therefore I.Q above 100 = brilliant

I.Q equal to 100 – average

I.Q below 100 – is below average.

Uses of intelligence

1. It provides the ability to reason and solve problems.
2. It enables one to memorize words, ideas, concepts and numbers quickly.
3. It helps one to perceive objects and things quickly e.g. recognizing similarities and differences.
4. It provides the ability for imaginary manipulation of objects in space.
5. It is very useful in skills such as observation, measurement and inference.

Application of Basic Intelligence Skill

Observation: This means looking at things carefully and closely to understand their features and differences.

Measurement: Is the process of determining the size, quantity, quality or degree of something. All these are done by the use of our intelligence through the use of measuring devices.

Inference: This is the process or act of forming your own opinion based on what you already know. This is common to scientific studies.