One Strange Rock (2018)

S1E9 Awakening

The human brain is a remarkable exception in the grand scheme of life. It’s easy to assume that once life began, the evolution of beings like us was destined to happen. However, consciousness was not a guaranteed outcome. For more than 2 billion years, Earth hosted life without any brains at all. Even now, a staggering 90% of living organisms lack a brain. The journey of how life and our peculiar planet converged to give rise to consciousness is filled with strikingly improbable and seemingly unnecessary coincidences.