Swimmer963 comments on Mundane Magic - Less Wrong
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There is a small genre of sci-fi short stories in which humans turn out to be the scariest species in the galaxy due to our possession of apparently mundane abilities. For example:
Human muscles have the terrifying ability to become increasingly more massive and powerful when placed under a routine of extreme stress. Many humans systematically overload their muscles in this way. For fun.
Humans breathe oxygen, a component of starship fuel!
The brain of a human is protected by an armored skull so powerful that a human fighter is impervious to any simple attack to the brain and can even use its braincase as a weapon to bludgeon enemies.
Humans naturally produce dangerous hormones and stimulants such as epinephrine. In desperate situations these boost a human's abilities, allowing it to continue functioning even when severely wounded.
Or examples of stories in this genre? That would be helpful too.
Alan Dean Foster has written at least one full-length novel trilogy in this genre.
TVTropes has a trope 'Humans Are Bastards' which might overlap a bit.
This is pretty difficult to search for.
Edit - There's a link to the 'Humans Are Cthulhu' trope that may be a better fit.
Edit - please disregard this post
Yeah, the description of "the ultimate power" is basically humans as Cthulhu.
Sci-fi forum thread: Humanity's most badass moments.