The Original Singularity

Think about it. How did the human species achieve escape velocity from the planet of the apes?

Humanoid brain volume

The chart above illustrates a profound inflection point in the story of our species: a dramatic acceleration in cranial capacity over evolutionary time. For millions of years, hominid brain volume increased gradually. Then, around 300,000 years ago—with the emergence of Homo sapiens—that trend steepened sharply.

This wasn’t just a matter of skull size. It marked a cognitive leap: the rise of abstract thought, language, symbolic reasoning, and forward planning. In short, the biological substrate for culture, technology, and civilization.

This phase shift—the “original singularity”—was not evenly distributed. It didn’t occur because of a single gene or invention, but likely as the cumulative effect of environmental pressures, social complexity, and intergenerational learning. The result was a brain that could model the world—and improve its own models.

Today, we stand at the edge of another inflection point. Artificial intelligence is externalizing cognitive labor in much the same way industrial machines externalized physical labor. But if history is any guide, the critical variable is not just the tool, but the mind that wields it.

To the current generation: your potential is still defined by the quality of your questions, not just your access to answers. Curiosity, not capacity, is the limiting factor.

Tools scale effort. Minds scale meaning.