Humankind has always thought that it is special. Even from an early age we humans are instinctively sure of our superiority. It was certainly inconceivable to me, at age four or so, that my six-year old sister could be right about anything, so when she casually informed me that I was “just an animal,” I confidently dismissed her pronouncement as mere rhetoric. Or I probably would have, if I had known what rhetoric was. Still, it was certainly a disquieting thought that there was no fundamental difference between humans and animals.