Your brain is one of the most complex things in the universe. In fact, it is one of the biggest brains that any known species has ever had. Although dolphins have brains that are as big as ours, much of theirs is taken up with their sophisticated echo-location system. Ours is devoted to something even more complex — keeping track of the most complex social world that any species has ever invented.
Monkeys and apes differ from almost all other species of animals by having societies based on intensely bonded friendships. This gives their societies a different quality and feel to the societies of other animals. They are more stable over time and act as a coordinated defence against predators and other external threats, like raiding neighbours. We humans also belong to this family, and our societies exhibit the same intensely social signature.
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