Unlimited Possiblities :The Power Of Our Imaginations

The Product of Imagination

I am going to ask a question which I believe to be the easiest to answer and yet is the hardest to understand! I Know that this has provoked your interest and that I've gotten your attention  Now! I can already see you scanning the  next few lines in a rush to see this query and then decide the veracity of my claim! So if you are ready,  then here it is!


What is the one undeniable proof of man's difference from all other forms of life on Earth?


Is it the ability to use our opposable thumbs? 

While they help in the ability to carry things, make tools and are extremely handy for holding,  in writing, drawing and painting they are not unique to humans.Chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, various apes, primates, giant pandas, koalas and several smaller dinosaur species.

Perhaps it is our ability to communicate with languages then?

Again communication between members of the same species is not a uniquely human trait. All creatures communicate with their own species through a wide variety of means. Some utilize several methods of passing on information. Mammals, birds, reptiles, insects  and fish use smells, sounds, frequencies, wavelengths and  movement to convey messages to those of their own kind.

Well Then it must be our ability to learn think and reason that does it! 
Correct?

Again sadly, that is an assumption, which many of us would be mistaken to want to make. Many animals have shown the ability to think, reason and learn. Orcas or Killer Whales, dolphins, seals, apes and dogs have shown that they can and do learn very well.  Horses and pigs have been trained to count . Parrots can mimic our speech and do it well enough, to have some us doubt that they are as  intelligent, as some of our own species. Chimpanzees and gorillas  have been able to communicate in sign language to anthropologists and guide animals show reasoning prowess to keep their humans safe in everyday  hazardous conditions.

No the real difference between mankind and all other creatures is something called Imagination. While the tricks and abilities exhibited by our furry, feathered, scaled and finned friends are marvelous. And they are designers and engineers in their own right. I will not exclude the insect world which has its amazing artisans with shells, webs, hills, tunnels and nests.

All however, pale in comparison, to the various inventions, technical advances, works of art, music, sciences, literature and philosophical achievements that the Species Known as Homo Sapiens as attained. It is the use of  our unique  Imaginations which has truly made the difference my friends. Every invention great and small  from the discovery of fire to that of  the wheel, came from using imagination.

By  watching the way the animals, birds and insects hunted, what they ate and how they protected themselves early man learned much. By imagining himself, like the animals he learned their habits and what he didn't have naturally, he created a copy or image of their natural weapons, to use as they did. The gatherer became the hunter and the hunter learned to fish, to swim and to use his brain more.

Imagination came with stories of the hunt, with telling of what they say and how the animals did things. The heroes of the hunt and the protectors of the cave dwellers from the predators became the leaders and the story tellers became the teachers, the artists and the dreamers. Yes the use of our Imaginations has brought us far and is just getting started.

Like I stated everything that we have now, was first an idea in someones imagination. You name it and that is where it began. Yes everything started out as an idea, from cuneiform symbols to any language written to the flash memories of computers or laptops, From primitive art on cave walls to the works of the great masters of the Renaissance to the digital designs of Modern Animation.

From the striking of a hollow log with a stick to drum solo of a Buddy Rich to the Electronic Wizardry of  DJ  music mixers. From the ceremonial face paint of the hunter for a success hunt to the makeup of the runway models. From animal skins grass and leaves to polyesters, silks, satins and microfiber haute couture ,

That is what defines us as the  top of the food chain, it is Imagination that gives us the edge and it is that alone which separates us from all the other creatures on this planet. That is the only answer which answer  the question that I asked above. All knowledge that has ever been dreamed of! All things ever hoped for and all that makes us who and what we are, started out as an idea in some ones IMAGINATION!    
   
 Copyright 05/10/2011
Edited and reprinted July 21st 2015