ANOTHER PILLAR SEPARATING US FROM 'ANIMALS' CRUMBLES

From the BBC: "Thought might not be dependent on language, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A UK team has shown that patients who have lost the ability to understand grammar can still complete hard sums. This suggests mathematical reasoning can exist without language. The study undermines the assumption that language is the key quality that makes our thought processes more advanced than those of other animals." A little further down, the article spells out the point of this: "If Dr Varley is correct, it again raises the question of what makes humans different. According to many academics, people are much cleverer than other animals because language gives them a higher order of thought. But these findings suggest cleverness and language might not be as closely connected as once assumed." Guess we'll have to fall back on that "we're the only animal that eats meat when we don't need to" difference to prove our superiority. (via VEGAN PORN.)