Stephen asked:

What is a human being? Are we no more than just clever animals?

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Well, your first question is a big one, and I'm not going to try to answer it here. It is the second one
that interests me. Why do you think that being a clever animal is such an insignificant thing that it can
be dismissed with the phrase 'no more than just'? It seems to me that being an animal — even the
simplest type — is an extraordinary thing in its own right. How is it that inanimate matter can evolve
into a self-organizing, self-reproducing form? What an amazing achievement! And then, even more
incredible, some of these animals then evolve into conscious, self-aware animals. While some
important strides have been made in understanding all this, there is a lot more to find out. Finding out
how we came to be a clever animal is quite enough of an exciting and invigorating quest for me.

Tim Sprod