In part three of my series about the incredible human, I am going to talk about our ability to create, interact, and enjoy music. Music is found in all human cultures and thus appears to be part of our biology and not simply a cultural phenomenon. Although many animals can perceive the components of music the way we do, at least some also enjoy similar aspects of sounds, musicality is strictly human. We think of birds as singing, but they are merely communicating using complex patterns of rhythm and pitch, much the way humans employ intonation while speaking. For instance, we may speak more quickly and louder when excited. Additionally, we raise the pitch of the final word when asking a question. But music composition, performance, and appreciation are strictly human phenomena. This post will focus on how music may have been with us since before speech and may be credited with helping us connect as social beings, among other benefits.
Read MoreToday, we don’t have to hunt or even farm our own food, we have climate control everywhere, we are highly entertained, we have medicine for everything, and we can gain goods and services at the click of a link. In constructing this "paradise”, we have lost the need for most common human interactions. In today’s post, I will explain whye are stronger when we come together, and how that can be achieved even in today's divided world.
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