Being Human

9/5/2019

Take a quick look at this article for a scientific approach to some of the traits that separate humans from other animals, and then respond to the following questions.

What are some physical/biological characteristics that distinguish humans from other animals? Do you think there are any other distinctions not covered in the article? How would you define what it means to be human?

47 Comments

Carson

9/5/2019 01:20:27 pm

A think a human has to have a lot of characteristics like what were mentioned in the article to be human. I think another thing that makes us human is that we have a good balance of all senses like for example some animals don’t have good sight or hearing but we have all 5 senses to use in our everyday lives.

Ady

9/5/2019 01:22:56 pm

I didn’t even think about the eye sight to hearing but your absolutely right that that separates us as well as other animals from each other.

Ady Sawyer

9/5/2019 01:21:09 pm

Some physical characteristics that separate us from animals would be that we wear clothes and have found a way to change the earth and alter fire. I would define what it means to be human as being able to make a life for yourself and being able to choose how to express yourself.

Carson

9/5/2019 01:21:59 pm

I agree that part of being human is being able to make a life for yourself.

Ele

9/5/2019 01:36:18 pm

Yes, it is cool how we can show ourselves through what we wear and how we can project ourselves in many ways.

Megan

9/5/2019 01:24:12 pm

Some physical/biological characteristics that distinguish us from animals are how our brains develop things and how our body looks. I think that it’s possible for some things not to be covered in the article as far as brain growth. I’d define being human is being able to grow and develop our bodies and knowledge more progressively throughout the years as technology advances.

Ady

9/5/2019 01:26:09 pm

Yeah it’s really neat that we can change the way our bodies look and how our posture is different.

Olivia

9/5/2019 01:25:20 pm

Some characteristics that make humans different from other species are our bodies. We have a brain that allows us to reason and be spontaneously proactive. Our opposable thumbs can reach our last two fingers, unlike any other species. We stand on two legs instead of walking on all fours. We wear clothes, unlike any other species unless you dress up your dog or put a sweater on your cat. I’m sure there are many things that weren’t mentioned in this article about how we differ from other animals, but I can’t necessarily think of any. I would define humanity as living a good life until death. Make life matter.

Carson

9/5/2019 01:28:08 pm

Do you think other species could walk on 2 legs as good as us?

Sienna

9/5/2019 01:29:10 pm

Agreed, humanity really is just another animal but due to our more sophisticated lives we should make the best that we can out of it.

Dakota James

9/5/2019 01:30:06 pm

I agree with trying to live your best life until it is over.

Keely

9/5/2019 01:38:14 pm

I like what you said about living a good life until death, I never thought about the fact that animals don’t really care so much about that.

Madeline

9/5/2019 01:44:03 pm

I really like what you said that we should make life matter.

Sienna

9/5/2019 01:26:25 pm

Humans have opposable thumbs but not opposable feet. We still have hair but the follicles are slightly fewer and less dense therefore in turn, thinner. Something not mentioned was sight. Primates and other animals have sight but humans have less color blindness than others. In my opinion, being human is being a descendant of apes and being a homosapien.

Olivia

9/5/2019 01:28:17 pm

Sight was a good thing to mention, seeing as how not all animal’s five senses are the same.

Eliza Fisher

9/5/2019 01:27:09 pm

Some physical/ biological characteristics that distinguish humans from other animals include being able to walk completely upright and how much longer we stay with our family’s and not being on our own so soon in life. I would think that being his man means that you have more responsibility...

Kendra

9/5/2019 01:29:47 pm

Yeah I like how you said we have more responsibility.

Olivia

9/5/2019 01:30:29 pm

We stay with our parents for a lot of our life, which is weird to think about as some animals are on their own right when they’re born.

Jaylee

9/5/2019 01:27:09 pm

Some characteristics that distinguish humans from other animals are we have amazing brains. Also they way we look is a big way that we are different from other species. I think that the way we attract other humans compared to how other species attract. I think what it means to be human is the way we can choose what we eat, how we live, and what we do on a daily bases. Humans are free to choose what and how we live life.

Eliza

9/5/2019 01:28:41 pm

I think it is cool how we do compare to other species like you said.

Kendra

9/5/2019 01:31:04 pm

Your right I believe we do have more of a choice.

Myah

9/5/2019 01:41:18 pm

I like what you said about choices. We have the ability to choose what happens in our life.

Kendra

9/5/2019 01:28:34 pm

One thing I found very interesting is that we blush and no other species do. This makes us unique from the rest of the animal kingdom. I can’t think of any other distinctions than are in the article. We our literate and can communicate with body language as well.

Eliza

9/5/2019 01:29:33 pm

That is cool how we blush and so do other animals like you said.

Dakota James

9/5/2019 01:31:13 pm

I believe body language is extremely critical to human existence and will never go away.

Sienna

9/5/2019 01:31:43 pm

Good mention with the writing. Humans define have skills that allow us to do different things that other animals, such as writing

Keely

9/5/2019 01:39:27 pm

The blushing took me off guard! I never thought about the why behind it or why animals can’t do that.

Dakota James

9/5/2019 01:28:56 pm

A physical characteristic that distinguishes humans from animals is how we walk on two feet. This frees our hands which allows us to use tools and other objects easier. A Biological characteristic is our exceptionally large brain. This is one reason we must stay with our parents longer than other animals so our brains can better develop and grow to learn new things. I believe there are other distinctions between us and animals. For example the way we communicate with others by showing affection. We also have a much longer life expectancy due to our more complex ways of life with variety’s of technology. Being human means learning and not always doing things right the first time, but also growing to accommodate for things that don’t go right.

Ele

9/5/2019 01:32:50 pm

I like how you involved how we us technology today, because it is one of the things that we have access to that they don’t.

Lizzie

9/5/2019 01:33:24 pm

I like how you suggested the idea of growing to accommodate things that don’t go right.

Ele

9/5/2019 01:29:23 pm

Phyiscal characteristics for humans that are different from animals in a cool way is how we use just 2 feet to walk around daily and our hands are what allows us to being able to work and do things, while it is kinda just a resource for other animals

Trishelle

9/5/2019 01:30:13 pm

Some characteristics that distinguish humans from other animals is that we have an extraordinary brain and humans are the only species to blush. How humans and animals eat is not discussed. I would define human as being able to choose how you live your life and the decision s you get to make.

Lizzie

9/5/2019 01:34:40 pm

I agree that being a human means living your life and making your own decisions.

Lizzie

9/5/2019 01:30:21 pm

Blushing is a physical characteristic that no other species have according to Darwin that show a sense of emotion that we are feeling. We also have the biological characteristic to stay with our parents a lot longer than most other species. Another distinction that I feel kind of applies would be the way we look so different why most animals look fairly similar. Being a human means showing different types of emotion and experiencing things for yourself.

Janessa

9/5/2019 01:42:14 pm

I agree that humans show lots of emotions. I feel like animals only express and use certain emotions that would help them survive while we have many others because of how social we are.

Myah

9/5/2019 01:35:02 pm

Characteristics that define humans from animals are communication, upright positioning, smarter brains, the capability to cook our food and significantly less hair than most animals. A trait that was not discussed in the article was about how humans are able to creat many different facial expressions. To me, being human means to be able to have self control. Most predators can not control themselves when hunting or reproducing. Humans have the capability to make their own independent choices which are able to affect their whole lives.

Cade

9/5/2019 01:43:54 pm

The idea of communication was really smart, we communicate in many ways such as speech, gestures and attitude.

Madeline

9/5/2019 01:47:53 pm

I like what you said that humans can make multiple facial expressions and I also like what you said about our independent decisions effecting their whole lives.

Keely

9/5/2019 01:35:36 pm

We are different from other animals because we have a larger brain capacity that has allowed us to create many nations, as well as the ways we carry ourselves. We stand and walk upright giving us a dominating stance. Other distinctions I think is the fact that we talk using different mouth positions. We don’t just let our mouths hang open and make a noise that translates into a language for other around us. Being human means we have more opportunities to express ourselves. We learn and adapt to our surroundings as well as different situations we come across.

Myah

9/5/2019 01:44:21 pm

I never knew that our jaws weren’t connected! Most animals don’t have that because of the way their body is built.

Madeline

9/5/2019 01:38:48 pm

Some of the physical and biological characteristics that distinguish humans from other people would be that we are the only animals that are known for blushing and making our own clothing. I think that being human means that you yearn to thrive not only survive and also would say that it means that we not only care about ourselves and our families but also other people around us.

Cade

9/5/2019 01:42:41 pm

I like how you brought up the topic of clothing. It really compliments how we as humans differ from other species.

Janessa

9/5/2019 01:38:54 pm

One of the physical differences in humans from animal is our brains. We have so much capacity that it takes longer for our brains to develop and grow. I think being human means that we are always learning. We are always asking questions and trying to understand more. A sloth doesn’t do that. A sloth just thinks “I’m a sloth. Munch munch.”

Cade

9/5/2019 01:39:05 pm

A couple physical differences between humans and animals are opposable thumbs and upright posture. Humans have lower larynx boxes than other animals and we also have more developed pelvic bones. Our thumbs can reach all the way to our pinky’s and ring fingers. A biological difference is that we as humans have different thinking processes, we have the ability to make more complicated decisions about countless things. I think being human means being different from others.

Janessa

9/5/2019 01:44:44 pm

I like how you said we make more complicated decisions. Animals only make decisions because of the instinct to survive while humans can worry about other problems.

Jonah

9/11/2019 01:15:21 pm

Some things that define humans include our ability to speak, the possession of able hands. Some things I can think of that weren’t covered are our lifelong spouses. Some species mate with many different beings.

Micah Tolman

9/11/2019 01:24:32 pm

We know how to keep flames under control, we blush, we stand up straight, and we live with our parents longer than most creatures.
I think they are all covered. But what about creating music? Could that be something that makes us different from other animals? Or is that included in the “speech” section?
I think being human means to not just survive. But to THRIVE!!!

Being Human

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