I love the cliche that humans are somehow unique in the universe by either biology or culture and that we apparently possess an incredible capacity for improvisation and adaptability compared to other races. Other races fall into either a peaceful, methodical, war-like, or analytical approach to problems, but humans go "Well, fuck it, we'll make it up as we go along!" and that somehow works.
Like in Harry Turtledove's World War book series where alien lizards invade during WWII. In the sequel series set twenty years later humans have essentially copied all of the technology that took the aliens centuries to methodically develop. By the final book set about a century or so later humans show up at the aliens' home planet with a faster spaceship and more weapons than them.
It's kind of like Earth national chauvinism or Human racial superiority, but I still like it.
