How we got to be here is one of humanity’s most enduring questions. And it comes in many layers: first in understanding how the Universe formed, then how life appeared on Earth, and how we, humans, specifically came to be. We don’t yet know for sure what the answers to this question are. We may never know for sure. But as always, we do have theories.
And one of them involves drugs. Image in the public domain.
Let’s focus, however, on how we came to be. Modern humans stand apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, indeed even from the rest of the primate family, due to our unique cognitive abilities. We can talk, we can do abstract thinking, we can imagine different scenarios, and solve the problems we face. We also have fancy thumbs and enough dexterity to create and use tools. But for the most part what makes us stand out is that, to the best of our knowledge, other animals simply can’t use their brains in the same way we do.