Terrence Deacon: Language, Symbolic Cognition, Brain Evolution, Anthropology, Origin of the Human Mind | #20

Nick talks to biological anthropologist and cognitive scientist, Terrence Deacon. The conversation focuses on ideas from Terrence's book, "The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain." They spend nearly three hours talking about the origins of language. Topics include: what is language and how does it differ from animal communication? How do children acquire language so easily at a young age? What is symbolic cognition, how is it different from other forms of cognition, and how did this unlock our ability to evolve language?

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ABOUT Nick Jikomes:
Nick is a neuroscientist and podcast host. He is currently Director of Science & Innovation at Leafly, a technology startup in the legal cannabis industry. He received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University and a B.S. in Genetics from the