In this month's column, we solve the mystery of the emergence of modern human culture. As a bonus, there's a bit of good news for Tokyoites — and for those of us who may worry that success is solely down to brainpower.

After I moved to Japan, I gradually adjusted the cultural peculiarities I'd picked up from living in Britain, and made myself more Japanese. Like many foreigners in Japan, I learned to ask questions obliquely; I became far more polite than I had been at home; and I changed my eating habits.

I couldn't change my genes, of course, but I could change my behavior. So, to some extent, I could adapt to the different cultural environment I found myself in. It's something that marks humans out from other animals.