What are they, I wonder?

DTNL --

Language is certainly one.  It is used richly in our social societies
and the brain is uniquely structured for it, though studies of other
mammals (recently of dogs) show a capacity to understand it.

Perhaps surprisingly, altruism is another.  Matt Ridley argues in "The
Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation"
that it's distinctly human.  "Tell your children to be good, not
because it is costly and superior, but because in the long run it
pays."  He's not alone and in fact his ideas are influenced by the
ideas of Robert Frank (economist), Jerome Kagan (psychologist), James
Q. Wilson (criminologist) and Robert  Trivers (biologist).

There are some aspects in which humans aren't a wonder: insects and
birds have better color perception; some raptors have telescopic
vision.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Hi dtnl42,

You might find this anecdote interesting: 

< https://www.thehighcalling.org/printtoday.asp >

I don't put much stock in its veracity, though - it has all the
markings of a generic "inspirational" email forward.

Emjay

Hand-in-armpit farting noises better make any such list.

Hi Dtnl,

Thanks for the tough question. Trying to think about it without
reference. Also trying to draw how we might differ to other known life
forms.

Choice
Belief
Language (I sneeked a look at Omni's answer)
Invention
Intervention (of nature)
Care (of others)
Hate (of same)
Suicide (or self destruction)

Great question. Guess I failed the test. Phil

1)-Consciousness, and the ability to ponder this very question,
2)-Sight, 3)-Hearing, 4)-Taste, 5)-Smell, 6)-Touch, ...and
7)-Language.

What about rationality?
And destructiveness?

What about opposable thumbs? I mean, these things are pretty cool!!
Look at everything around you, each structure, each tool...imagine
what it?d look like if it was made with your feet.

I?m trying to think of a human trait that gorillas don?t possess as
well.  A little reaserch on Koko will show that there isn?t much of a
difference.

-Fractl

Good question, two thumbs up...HAHAHAHAHAHA..I?m not funny at all.

Actually Fractl, you'll find gorillas social and sex lives VERY
different, though we share 99% of the genetic structure.  I might
suggest "Nature via Nurture," Matt Ridley's excellent book on genomics
of primates.

However, I woke up this morning and said to myself "opposable thumb." 
My daughter alleges that cats would rule the world if only they had
opposable thumbs.

I think that I'd make #4: the ability to transmit knowledge in written
(and now audio and video) formats.

Suicide may indeed be unique to humans but I'm not sure how it fits as
one of 7 wonders . . .

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Laughter, don't forget laughter.   ;D

I have a few human-specific ?wonders? here:

* While language is not limited to humans, a written language is.  

* Another thing that stems from language is the idea that people know about the 
  past, their own ancestors.  

* We also gather knowledge differently, while most of the things an animal 
  knows were genetically coded as a result of millennia of evolution, the vast 
  majority of human knowledge must be taught through language. 

* Perhaps we are also the only creature capable of limiting our own 
  reproduction rate when needed (although that doesn?t mean we always do).

I'm not sure if this question was intended to be things only humans
are capable of (that is just one interpretation).  Regardless, I hope
this helps in answering your question.

-Fractl

 For those reading/commenting on this...dntl42 asked another (equally
interesting) question on the 'scientific wonders of being alive'
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=430077
The answer is very good...sadly, though, the commentary turned into a
religious brawl.

I read through all of the comments and began to ponder, "what
seperates man from animal?" And the only logical thing I can think is
that it is only MANKIND that uses fire as a tool.

Perhaps this comes under the catagory of Invention, though we
certainly didn't "invent" fire.

Might I suggest more research into myth.

I would say that a big wonder of humans is the ability to understand
the thoughts and intentions of others.  If you are at all academically
inclined I would suggest the book How Monkeys See the World: Inside
the Mind of Another Species by Dorothy L. Cheney + Robert M. Seyfarth
(The University of Chicago Press 1990).  I studied it in a graduate
seminar and the evidence they present is fascinating and compelling.

A review by Danny Yee puts it nicely

"However there is no clear evidence that monkeys know that other
monkeys have mental states, or that they have self-awareness. The
evidence for this kind of second-order intentionality is most
convincing (but still equivocal) for chimpanzees, and there seem to be
qualitative differences between monkeys and
apes."(http://dannyreviews.com/h/How_Monkeys_See_the_World.html)