7 Really Complicated Things You Do Without Thinking

7. Speak

Humans have a near limitless array of sounds with which to make themselves heard. Most animals will only ever be able to produce the sounds that they are born with (albeit at different frequencies as they get bigger), but humans have invented literally trillions of words in thousands of languages with which to express ourselves - so why is there such a gap? For a start, we are just physically able to make a much wider range of noises. We evolved a descended larynx some 350,000 years ago, which allows us to form words in a unique way. Some species of deer do also possess a descended larynx, but they also lack the perfect combination of lips, cheeks and tongue (not to mention developed language centres of the brain), that allows us to talk human. Just talking is one thing, but learning to talk is just mind-boggling. The ability to hear an abstract sound, attach it to an abstract concept and use it to form the basis of everything from your name to a recipe for Victoria Sponge, not to mention then learning to associate those same abstract sounds and concepts to equally abstract squiggly shapes on a piece of paper. Don't even get me started on grammar.