Although many clear differences exist between Homo sapiens and other species, eyesight is one of the key ones. Birds of prey have remarkable eyesight, but not as perfectly binoculated as ours – and they don’t have our brainpower behind those eyes. Many other species have sharp eyes, but not always in colour….and only rarely with the ability to see through refracting surfaces. When it comes to eyesight, we seem to have the lot.

In developing this Supersight, we have diluted other senses along the way. Our hearing has a narrower spectrum than many animals, most notably dogs. Perhaps this is why dogs have become domesticated: their warnings are useful to us. But most notably, our sense of smell is far more dull than wild animals, as we lack their ever-present need to sense the approach of predators and the presence of prey.

What this higher level of eyesight (along with a bigger brain) has enabled us to do, however, is fundamental. First, we can create visual images and art to leave behind – from which future generations can appreciate history. And second, we have created written language, a consistent source from which we could not only communicate from vast distances – but also retain skills and learning to speed up the process of technological development. And in both ways, we have created the idea of imagining of how things might be – and ways in which they could be perceived differently. For if written science accelerates each generation’s progress up the learning curve, art can also inspire that learning towards hitherto unrealised aspirations. The whole genre of science fiction is based on this.

It may or may not be significant, but of all the senses we have most lost along the way, smell is the one that has as yet produced no art form in the accepted sense. Perhaps this is because it is of no help in guiding us towards wherever it is we’re going.

A shark can sniff a millilitre of blood in an Olympic-size swimming pool – but has no idea why. A kestrel can spot a shrew in a field of corn – but cannot deduce where other rodents might be on this basis. Only human beings dream in language, look ahead in writing, and express thought in painting.

But which has been the main driver in this – the brain or the eyesight? Have they developed mutually? Did the brain demand the eyes, or the eyes the brain?

What does anyone think?