As scientists learn more about human nature, they’ve made some remarkable discoveries about skills and traits that we may be born with.
A new study published last month in the journal Royal Society Open Science suggests that the ability to teach—whether we’re showing a young niece how to tie her shoes or instructing an entire geometry class—is a vital and ingrained aspect of human nature.
The research contradicts previously held theories that teaching as we understand it—as the passing of detailed, instructional knowledge from one person to another—is a modern invention, according to Dr. Barry Hewlett, a professor of anthropology at Washington State University-Vancouver and lead author of the study.