Survival of the wittiest? Scientists debate if wit helped evolve language
By identifying ‘living fossils’ in modern speech, some researchers are arguing that human language evolved slowly through a ‘survival of the wittiest’. The theory suggests verbal humour was sexually selected over physical fighting, using visual brain regions to build the foundation of complex modern grammar
· 7/19/2026, 5:18:49 AM· 2 min read
By identifying ‘living fossils’ in modern speech, some researchers are arguing that human language evolved slowly through a ‘survival of the wittiest’. The theory suggests verbal humour was sexually selected over physical fighting, using visual brain regions to build the foundation of complex modern grammar
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