25 Facts Learned in School That Are No Longer True

Neanderthals may have been as smart as humans

New research indicates that Neanderthals were not cavemen who died because they weren’t as intelligent as the humans with whom they coexist and reproduce. Additionally, according to Nature ‘s article, cave paintings were created in Spain around 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe. They used tools and made jewelry, too.

So why did they go extinct? A 2017 study published in the journal Nature Communications indicates that they may have actually been outnumbered by the waves of Homo sapiens that migrated into their territories from Africa, starting about 50,000 years ago; two species can not occupy the same ecological niche without one shifting or dying out.

There isn’t such a thing as being left-brained or right-brained

I’ve always thought that I’m left-brained because of my logical and analytical disposition, but it turns out that no studies have been able to demonstrate different areas of brain activity in people with different personality traits. Different parts of the brain undoubtedly have specific purposes— we learn from observing individuals who have experienced brain injuries or strokes, according to the Harvard Health Blog. Researchers also believe that control of language is found on the right side of the brain in most people, for example, and the back of the brain handles visual information.