What is the purpose of life? Whatever you may think is the answer, you might, from time to time at least, find your own definition unsatisfactory. After all, how can one say why any living creature is on Earth in just one simple phrase? For me, looking back on 18 years of research into how the human brain handles language, there seems to be only one, solid, resilient thread that prevails over all others. Humanity's purpose rests in the spectacular drive of our minds to extract meaning from the world around us. For many scientists, this drive to find sense guides every step they take, it defines everything that they do or say. Understanding nature and constantly striving to explain its underpinning principles, rules and mechanisms is the essence of the scientist's existence. And this can be considered the most simplified version of their life's purpose. But this isn't something that just applies to the scientifically minded. When examining a healthy sample of human minds using