Anyone else ever had the thought we aren't the smartest beings on earth?

[Independent voter]

Somehow she's tricked me into feeding her for free.

[Fascinate]

We are the top of the food chain because we invented ways to kill anything larger, stronger and faster than us. That alone means we are smarter than everything else or atleast more evolved which again would make us the smartest.

Again id like the discussion to stray from this. I wholly understand we were easily able to take the top spot of the food chain with our ability to "our smart" our prey and create weapons, but that truly isnt what this thread is about.

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Somehow she's tricked me into feeding her for free.

LOL another good point. Animals learned that humans were able to be charmed to hunt FOR them.

[May90]

Depends on how you define "smart". I'd say we are the smartest among all species we are familiar with, based just on what we have achieved technologically.

[Reeve]

That is fair i suppose. Well my main reason for creating the thread is if anyone simply just thought for a second what if we arent the most "intelligent" species that resides on earth? I guess i am suggesting that overthinking things as humans do really puts us at a disadvantage. Animals simply know how to live life, hardships are incurred naturally they know what is coming to them or not. Animals don't have to deal with nearly anything that humans do but at the same time can partake in some of the best things humans do (good food, sex, companionship).

Animals have to deal with being eaten alive. Humans don't generally have the same worries as this bird, for example:

[enragedgorilla]

Compared to what, exactly?

As far as we know, we're the smartest things in the universe.

and some of us are smart enough to know that it could change in an instant...when and if facts present themselves to counter our thought.

[Fascinate]

Again lets leave out the food chain, the core isnt about that. If you TRULY believe we are the smartest beings on the planet because we were able to create ships and harpoons/nets to trap whales that makes us the smartest, you simply dont understand what is being asked here.

[Donald Hellscream]

Again id like the discussion to stray from this. I wholly understand we were easily able to take the top spot of the food chain with our ability to "our smart" our prey and create weapons, but that truly isnt what this thread is about.

Surely the fact that we invented means to kill just about any other species on the planet means that we are the smartest, I know there are other mammals with highly functioning brains but not on the level of human ingenuity.

Even if we leave out the fact that we found ways to overcome something much more dangerous than ourselves, the fact that we even came up with the idea or really any idea at all is why we are the smartest.

[apples]

step 1: define intelligence
step 2: redo thread

unless you want people to just keep comin in here saying intelligence is subjective or that humans are most intelligent because we kill everything

[Shahad]

So is our ignorance, and the ability to be the most savage destructive creature on the planet.

Give another animal the power we have, and they would be destructive as well. Some of them would also grow complacent (ignorant).

[Fascinate]

Surely the fact that we invented means to kill just about any other species on the planet means that we are the smartest, I know there are other mammals with highly functioning brains but not on the level of human ingenuity.

That isnt the question posed here sir. I made a mistake with the top of the food chain comment, i only said that because "top of the food chain" generally relates to us being wiser. I have went into detail in this thread as why i think this is false, feel free to browse.

[Darkeon]

I feel that, sometimes, we are not as smart as we think we are.

But going as far as ponder that we aren't the smartest beings on Earth? Nope, never crossed my mind.

[Justpassing]

Anyone else ever had the thought we aren't the smartest beings on earth?

Yes I have. When I'm high.

[Ornerybear]

LOL another good point. Animals learned that humans were able to be charmed to hunt FOR them.

no we train animals through repetition that we will provide them food so they keep coming around. my cats know when they get food because i do it at the exact same time every day. 5pm rolls around and i walk in the door, they go right to the food bowls.

the animals who were less afraid and more friendly towards humans were the ones that survived better and thats how they were domesticated. it's not some "omg animals are smart and tricked us" situation.

you need to separate your romanticism of the simple animal life from your idea that they just know how to do it better and accept that we are more intelligent but it might not be for the best (which seems like more of what you are trying to argue)


ALSO god has no place in this discussion, stop bringing it up. this is a conversation about biology.

[Deleted]

If you ever thought this, you shouldn't be breathing the air of us humans who know better.

[Fascinate]

no we train animals through repetition that we will provide them food so they keep coming around. my cats know when they get food because i do it at the exact same time every day. 5pm rolls around and i walk in the door, they go right to the food bowls.

the animals who were less afraid and more friendly towards humans were the ones that survived better and thats how they were domesticated. it's not some "omg animals are smart and tricked us" situation.

you need to separate your romanticism of the simple animal life from your idea that they just know how to do it better and accept that we are more intelligent but it might not be for the best (which seems like more of what you are trying to argue)


ALSO god has no place in this discussion, stop bringing it up. this is a conversation about biology.

What you said could be said in the exact opposite tense and still make sense. Did we tame animals because we were lonely, or did animals tame us because they wanted easy prey.

[Revi]

What you said could be said in the exact opposite tense and still make sense. Did we tame animals because we were lonely, or did animals tame us because they wanted easy prey.

Yeah, resisting capture until trained or bribed with food and then forcefully bred a certain way for generations was all a part of the dogs master plan.

[Gib Lover]

you need to separate your romanticism of the simple animal life from your idea that they just know how to do it better and accept that we are more intelligent but it might not be for the best (which seems like more of what you are trying to argue)

It is for the best though. If the downside of our intelligence and wisdom is some wars here or there, that is totally worth the majority of our 7 billion strong population being the smartest/wisest species on the planet.
I would literally rather have a huge war with a concurrent genocide going on to be a human rather than live a year and a half as a stupid owl, run into something and break my wing, and be eaten alive by mice.

[Ornerybear]

What you said could be said in the exact opposite tense and still make sense. Did we tame animals because we were lonely, or did animals tame us because they wanted easy prey.

the simple answer here is, No.

[Fascinate]

Let me make clear that i am NOT suggesting animals have clairvoyant control over humans lol. The question at hand is are animals smarter than humans bases on the fact they dont let insignificant things enter their heads like humans do, they are programmed to live their life from birth and dont stray from that.

[remeran12]

Yeah, resisting capture until trained or bribed with food and then forcefully bred a certain way for generations was all a part of the dogs master plan.

Hah

/10char