Humans have, in a relatively short amount of time, evolved from apes on the African plains to upright brainiacs with nukes, computers, and space travel.
Meanwhile, a lion is still a lion and a beetle is still a beetle.
Is there a specific reason for this? Do we have a particular part of brain that no other animal has?
This question appears to address at least two distinct concepts:
I will provide an explanation of each separately below:
The speed at which a species evolves—that is, the speed at which it acquires new heritable characteristics—can be affected by numerous factors. Among the most obvious which come to mind are:
On the whole, I do not feel that I could say without a doubt that humans have evolved significantly faster than other organisms. Considering the above factors (we have a slow reproductive cycle, few offspring, etc.), it seems unlikely but this is where a zoologist would know better. The answer provided by bobthejoe may provide insight as well.
I would just raise a word of caution before leaping to the conclusion that we have evolved rapidly without looking into it, because while we often study human evolution quite extensively in biology classes and thus are more aware of changes like upright walking and opposable thumbs and increased brain size, that doesn't mean other animals didn't evolve that much as well (we just don't learn about them in as much detail). Being a psychologist and not a zoologist, I do not have the knowledge to say with any surety that other species did not evolve in their own ways to the same magnitude as we have in the last 3-4 million years, so perhaps someone else can help you there.
But you ask whether we have a particular part of our brain that no other animal has; the answer to this is no, but the parts of our brains which we do share with animals are often much larger than as seen in those other species.
I would like to point out here that human technology has nothing to do with evolution. Not only have all of our notable technological achievements occurred in the last couple hundreds years when human evolution was at its slowest (early human evolution as we know it today dates back at least 5-7 million years, and it was during this several million year period when all the genetic evolution you speak of happened), I would argue that human spaceships and computers are no more sophisticated to us than a mushroom garden and ventilation system are to a termite. I could be wrong here but it seems as if you are under the impression that evolution is striving towards something... That humans are somehow intrinsically better than lions or sharks or beetles. On the contrary, each of these creatures is not significantly more or less adapted to their environments as we are to our own, and in many ways these creatures possess features which are beyond our own.
I shall leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
"We need a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings. They are other nations caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth."
–Henry Beston, in The Outermost House
I don't have a dog in this fight, and I could very well be falsely assuming that you think this particular way when you in fact don't (you only wrote 4 lines after all, it's hard to glean much from that), but I wanted to make sure that these concepts were clear either way, particularly for any future visitors who might get the wrong impression. :)
We have the Human Accelerated Regions (HARs) which are some of the most rapidly evolving RNA genes elements. While heavily conserved in vertebrates, they go haywire in humans and are linked with neurodevelopment.
Thanks to @Nico, the following paper compares the human genome with that of the chimp and identifies genetic regions that show accelerated evolution. The most extreme, HAR1 is expressed mainly in Cajal-Retzius neuron cells which hints at its important role in human development.
It seems to me that humans have, in a relatively short amount of time evolved from apes on the African plains to upright brainiacs with nukes, computers, and space travel.
The question covers changes of two sorts: biological evolution and cultural evolution. The other answers speak to biological evolution, but I want to point out that much of the most striking changes ("nukes, computers...") are due to the evolution of our culture.
By 40,000 years ago most of our biological evolution to the present had happened (perhaps the most notable exception being changes related to our coevolution with disease organisms). Yet although we had achieved upright brainiac-hood by the apparent evidence, we were not strikingly different from other large animals.
We had sharpened rocks and sticks, and made better use of the surroundings, particularly in non-food categories, than other animals. We had been successful enough to spread throughout much of the old world. Nevertheless, the overall contrast with other animals seems rather muted when viewed by the differences with the modern world.
Most of the visible changes since then are due to evolution happening outside our genes and bodies in what can be called culture. Other animals have culture but our nature gives us many times the cultural capability. We build upon the culture we find ourselves in and make it more effective. The cultural presevation and advances come not just from aping ('monkey see, monkey do'), but from language, and from mechanisms of cultural distribution and preservation, most notably from the invention of written language. These things have driven the cultural evolution of the largest visible changes, those of the last few millenia.
The ability to walk on two legs was hugely significant in human evolutionary development. This led to the hands being freed up to develop into precision tools rather than having to be durable for walking on rough terrain. Increased dexterity in the hands led in part to the leap forward in human development.
~ The Human Body (Prof. Robert Winston - BBC Documentary 1998 (BBC Text Summary)
What you are talking about is genetic vs memetic evolution. While both are important in our species, the memetic evolution is responsible for the changes you are citing (mostly technological advancements and "culture"). There are some interesting situations where memetic evolution is actually "cancelling out" genetic evolution. For example medical technology has largely allowed many (at least in the developed world) to survive in spite of genetic handicaps (lack of resistance to a pathogen, insulin, glasses, etc). Despite this I would argue we are still evolving rapidly in the genetic sense though not for the reasons you imply. In most vertebrates (any slow-reproducing creature), there is an ongoing selective pressure against pathogens. If their immune systems don't continually change (and antibiotics don't intervene), pathogens will wipe them out. While not as glorious as developing bipedalism, this is still evolution. We are also now a very transient species with people migrating extensively compared to the recent past. This leads to new genetic combinations and thus potential selection. It could be argued (as others have) that the selective pressures for brain development (especially for language ala the FoxP2 gene) have brought about the rise of language, technology and culture. However I would argue that these evolutionary changes largely occurred, at minimum, the last few tens of thousands of years. As others have also noted, crazy genius isn't THE end goal of evolution, it is merely ONE possible outcome. The real goal is genetic perpetuation (which we do seem to excel at) ;)
Many animals have actually reached an optimal solution to their evolutionary path. That means that from where their genome is right now, pretty much all changes are harmful to expected reproduction. Over time such species start to have less variability within their genome and start to evolve less. Evolving is simply not sensible anymore.
Humans on the other hand are in an extremely open evolutionary path, that means there is much variability within the human genome that leads to greatly varied expected reproduction.
That is why humans are evolving so fast.
Interesting and thought provoking. Though I am curious why you wouldn't think plants and animals are conscious. Maybe they aren't self aware like you are, but if a lioness preserves herself to tend her cubs, is she not aware of the fact that things can exist or no longer exist? That life can be lost? No matter at what level you may perceive, this realization in her will trigger an emotion ( chemical reaction) which in turn will give her the fortitude to continue to survive, or as we sometimes see in nature, to not. How are we different? I hate this cut off that I see. " if it doesn't do it on the level that we do it then it don't do it at all". That's silly, if you believe in an evolutionary development of genetic material how can you not believe that emotions and awareness have levels of development too? Sounds a bit like the "chosen one" complex. Once you take that road, you're a hop skip and a jump from the creationist and 6000 year old earth.
I believe that it is significant that we spend so much of our brain-power on deciding who we want to mate with. For lions it seems like choosing a partner is much less based on rational thinking. The weakness of this theory is that I do not know how humans behaved earlier, and whether mating was strictly regulated by cultural rules to ensure that mating was not based upon convenience, but rational thinking about what who is the best partner in the long-term.
The reason for me believing that this is so important, is that a well-functioning couple in a well-functioning community, will have the time and energy to educate their children, who again will make wiser decisions on who they will choose as their partner.
I would love to get this theory tested (and hopefully rejected, as that is the way I learn the most) by this community.
Is there a specific reason for this? Do we have a particular part of brain that no other animal has?
Because you are human. So every minor change in appears looks important from skin colour, to the length of a nose, to the sounds we regularly make. If you were a lion, such minor difference would be noted but hardly commented upon. Think about this, all male lions have manes right? That is the essential display of maleness in lions. However male Tsavo lions have no mane. this is the equivalent of a tribe of people where the women have no breast.
There is no special part of the brain that is unique to humans. The structure of the brain in a mouse is essentially the same as the human. The big difference, is how big each section of the brain is.
In fact elephants and dolphin come close to matching human in cerebrum complexity. And the long-finned pilot whale, has actually more neocortical neurons than any mammal studied to date including human.
So why are us humans the guys with the guns?
Environment... no matter how smart a dolphin is, they will never master fire, because living in water does that to you. (also no hands, imaging trying to make rope with only your mouth to work with.)
And why elephant and man not waged war upon each other...(we have just not warfare were both sides used spears and swords) well them elephants have at best one hand with two fingers. No elephant, no matter how dexterous will ever learn how to knap a flint tool. Elephants never evolved hands... and us human got our hands from our ape ancestors that lived in the tree and needed limbs that could grasp.
Humans are special... but not in the way you would think. It is not because we are the most brainy animal out there, the long-finned pilot whale is more brainy. No because we are talkative social animals.... elephants talk too and they do talk to herds tens of kilometers away, maintaining decade long relationship made as calves.. Not because we use tools, birds and dolphins use tools too. Not because we have hands... many animal have hands... even non primates... like raccoons.
We are special because we can do all these things at the same time. We are brainy, have a pair of hands, tool using, social animals that live on dry land.
But that said... even with all those features.. the human species have been around for about 200,000 years. Civilization for 10,000.
Nukes, computers, and space travel.. strange as it is are very recent inventions. There are still people alive today who remembered the Wright brothers touring their new invention, the airplane. There are people alive today who saw the start of space race and the coming of the first PC (personal computer), the first nuke, the first mobile phone.
Go back just 200 and an LED flash light is tech so beyond bleeding age technology, it might as well it be science fiction (first light bulb invented in 1801. First commercial light bulb 1879).
