"Giacomo Rizzolatti discovered "mirror neurones"...
These nerve cells fire both when a monkey performs an action (like picking up a peanut)
and when the monkey sees someone else do the same thing...
As Rizzolatti puts it, "the fundamental mechanism that allows us a direct grasp of the mind of others
is not conceptual reasoning but direct simulation of the observed events through the mirror mechanism."
Direct grasp of others' minds is a special ability that paves the way
for our unique powers of imitation which in turn have allowed culture to develop", 'dangerous idea', edge.org