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For a long time, we were pretty dumb. Humans did little but make "the same very boring stone tools for almost 2 million years," he said. Then, only about 150,000 years ago, a different type of spurt happened — our big brains suddenly got smart. We started innovating. We tried different materials, such as bone, and invented many new tools, including needles for beadwork. Responding to, presumably, our first abstract thoughts, we started creating art and maybe even religion.

Cindi Rigsbee, for example, makes sure her students know when text language is appropriate and, more important, when it's not. She talks frequently in class about types of writing, the intended reader, and the evolution of language. At the beginning of each school year, she introduces a discussion about the way English has transformed over time. "We look at Old English, Middle English, and what was contemporary English in the time of Jane Eyre. Then I show them a MySpace page."