Month: September 2026

Wittiness is a trait that provides an excellent platform for replacing physical aggression with verbal behaviour and cognitive contest

It could never have been anticipated that the power to charm the female has been in some few instances more important than the power to conquer the other males in battle.

Selection for physical fitness, and selection for friendliness/groupishness, while both relevant for human evolution to some extent, do not begin to capture the essence of what it means to be human, specifically in relation to language. We may appreciate physical strength in our mates, and we may appreciate their friendly demeanor, but these are not necessarily traits that have to do with language directly, nor are these traits unique to humans.

The view of human evolution as the “survival of the wittiest” offers more explanatory power and a more comprehensive approach than does the “survival of the friendliest.”

The crucial milestone in human evolution, both linguistic and cognitive, was the emergence and entrenchment of the earliest forms of grammar, which unleashed a host of attributes that will turn out to be uniquely human, including increasingly more complex grammars and vast vocabularies, largely enabled by metaphorical extension, the flair for humor and quick-wittedness, and the means to replace physical aggression with cognitive contest.

https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/3/pgag052/8559600

Cycling levels in NYC, London, Paris, and Berlin increased over the three decades prior to COVID (1990–2019). As a percentage of daily trips, bike mode share rose from 0.6% to 2.2% in New York, from 1.2% to 3.7% in London, from 0.4% to 5% in Paris, and from 7% to 18% in Berlin. Cycling rates have continued to increase since COVID. By 2023, bike mode shares had risen further to 3% in NYC, 4.5% in London, 11% in Paris, and 19% in Berlin.

Cycling became safer in all four cities over the period 2005 to 2023, with declining per-trip fatality and injury rates. More and better cycling infrastructure has been a cornerstone of pro-cycling efforts, especially cycleways separated from motor vehicle traffic (protected bike lanes).

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15568318.2026.2649315#abstract