ONE ROLE of science, historical past suggests, is to wipe that smug grin off humanity’s face. It has moved Earth from the centre of the universe and relocated it in an astronomical backwater. It has downgraded Homo sapiens from being the top of God’s creation to only one other species formed by Darwinian evolution. And it has continually chipped away on the uniqueness of the intelligence and communication expertise by which many individuals mark their distinction from different beasts.
