Each of you possesses the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait that natural selection has ever devised. It’s a piece of neural audio technology for rewiring other people’s minds. I’m talking about your language.

Source: "How Language Transformed Humanity." TEDGlobal 2011. Jul. 2011. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote, from biologist Mark Pagel's 2011 TED Talk on the evolution of language, means that language is humanity's most powerful tool and means of survival. Says Pagel in this TED Talk, language allows you to take a thought from your brain and insert it into someone else's brain. For this reason, our words are extremely powerful, to the point that societies have tried to control them with censorship laws; the wrong words can even get you killed, says Pagel. Watch the full TED Talk here: Mark Pagel - How Language Transformed Humanity

“How Language Transformed Humanity.” TEDGlobal 2011. Jul. 2011. Conference Presentation.