Height.

Humans sometimes think that our species represents the acme of evolution as it stands now, and perhaps forever.

What sort of achievements might we set out as evidence that we are indeed the pinnacle of all life that has ever existed? Like bad anthropologists, might we be making the basic mistake that what represents a glorious achievement for a human mind doesn't commute across cultural boundaries?

Are technological or scientific advancements the manifestation of the highest height - the realisation that the quantum exists; the creation of computers which deal in teraflops; the genetic alteration of crops or animals? Is it that we've derived religion - placing the responsibility for our own lives into the hands of distant, notional gods?

Is it literature or art or poetry - or any combination of the things I have mentioned? The fact that words can be disseminated en masse as a consequence of technological development? The fact that words relating to the practice of evidence-based, scientifically-sound medical techniques can be disseminated en masse?

Could it be 'nothing more than' carrying out an act of which no other species is capable? So the 'mere' erection of a tower block; the formal notation of a piece of music or set of laws or instructions; the re-shaping of the surface of the earth by non-natural processes; the proliferation of artificial lighting.

Am I justified in stating that the inventor of the first light bulb has already transcended anything that any other species might conceivably do? Is the notional height of the lightbulb, the machine gun and the printing press irrefutable evidence of the looming stature of homo sapiens?

It's something that's been bothering me for much of the day and, as ever, I'm not sure there's a definitive answer. Even the capacity for such reflection might arguably supercede anything a non-human can in principle carry out.