Where Pascal is right is that diversion is a uniquely human trait. Some have believed tool-making marks us off from our animal kin. Others have claimed it is the transmission of knowledge or the use of language. But none of these is exclusively human. Beavers build homes for themselves, ravens use tools to seize food, apes form cultures using knowledge transmitted from previous generations. The howls of wolves and the songs of whales are the sounds of them speaking to one another. The need for diversion, though, is essentially human.
