LOGIC, REASONING, AND PROBABILITY. Episode 7: Who was the first man?

@Life & Lingua Code - All rights reserved! Here is the 7th episode of the intensive program on logic, reasoning, and probability. It provides the answer to the question of the "first human." What if the first human never existed? Just as with the chicken, there was no "first human." Humanity did not appear all at once but is the result of slow evolution. Contrary to popular belief, humans do not descend from apes; rather, we are cousins to chimpanzees and gorillas, sharing a common ancestor from about 60 million years ago. Several species of "humans"—Neanderthals, Denisovans, *Homo floresiensis*, *Homo heidelbergensis*—coexisted for millennia. *Homo sapiens* only emerged as a distinct group 300,000 years ago, and has been the sole human species on Earth for only about 35,000 years. Yet, our DNA contains up to 4% Neanderthal DNA: our ancestors interbred with them for nearly 15,000 years. Evolution continues to this day. On North Sentinel Island, a population isolated for millennia could, in 10 million years, evolve into a species distinct from our own. The theory of evolution, which only emerged in the 19th century, faces a conceptual challenge: how do we speak about humans while reconciling the fact that they did not always exist, yet there was never a "first human"? A fascinating reflection on the limitations of language when faced with evolutionary processes. Feel free to ask questions in the comments! @Life & Lingua Code - All rights reserved!