The Next Big Idea Daily Blame the Babies: How Infants Sparked Human Speech
Aug 27, 2025
Madeleine Beekman, a professor emerita of evolutionary biology at the University of Sydney and author of 'The Origin of Language', shares a captivating perspective on why humans are such chatty creatures. She argues that the need to care for helpless infants drove the evolution of language as a project-management tool for parenting. Beekman explores how the challenges of early hominins shaped our communication skills and social cooperation, revealing a fascinating interplay between language and human evolution.
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Evolution As A Pragmatic Tinkerer
- Evolution is a pragmatic tinkerer that uses simple, available fixes rather than perfect solutions.
- Madeleine Beekman argues many human traits arose from a few accidental, opportunistic changes.
Genes Are About Organization And Timing
- Humans and chimps share roughly 99% of DNA, so differences arise from genome organization and timing, not sequence alone.
- Beekman highlights chromosome fusion and regulatory changes as key drivers of human traits.
Bipedalism Made Babies Harder To Carry
- Bipedalism changed pelvis shape and birth orientation, making infants harder to deliver and carry.
- Beekman links upright walking to social living because helpless babies required group assistance.
