There are many problems with the thesis that sapiens is oh but so special (and of "special" being good). One is that our species is at least 100,000 years old,

There are many problems with the thesis that sapiens is oh but so special (and of "special" being good). One is that our species is at least 100,000 years old, most probably 200,000 and possibly a million years old. Yet, culture, history and "world dominance" only happened very recently. Why did it take so long? Another is that there were many "sapiens" species and they went extinct, either because we exterminated them, or nature did, or we absorbed them by cross-breeding. Being cognitive is no guaranty of success and even, it turns out, no protection from extermination. Yet another is that other species have language (dolphins for instance, which are neither "dogs" or "fish" or "ants"). And finally, talking of our "success" is the most ironic way of putting it, since we're in the process of destroying all mammal life on earth (including us). Maybe ants "eat our garbage" but they are likely to survive us, unlike anyone who's reading this.