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

[Deleted]

Intelligence is completely subjective as we all know. Extrapolate that to the extreme, are we smarter than animals because we can build skyscrapers or map our DNA? Or is it possible animals are smarter because they know burdening yourself with such things is an exercise in futility.

I have always heard people say we are at the top of the food chain because we are the only species that posses the ability to express empathy, but maybe its the complete opposite.

I just get really sick of people patting themselves on the back lol. We arent that smart, sure we have accomplished some things but we also have debilitating flaws that no other species in the animal kingdom has.

The mere notion you are trying to promote has more flaws tahn letters.
1.Intelligence isn't subjective.
2.You tell us that making an effort to not suffer the danger of beeing eaten every day is an excersise in futility.
3.We are not at the top of the foodchain because we are empathic, who the hell says that? Who are these "people"?
4.We are at the top of the foodchain becasue we are capable to devise and use tools.
5.You suggest we are at the botto of the foodchain becasue we are empathic?
6.Deal with it, we are better than every animal since we can compensate our shortcommings with technology.
7.You should hav shortened your statement by two words and you'd actually be arguing about society instead of biology, which would actually have something to argue about.

I truly believe its possible running on pure instinct is a higher form of "intelligence" than what humans run on. KISS (keep it simply stupid) applies here.

Your "intelligence" makes dogs run after an invisible ball...

[Fascinate]

Food chain was bad wording if i am honest, the point i am trying to get across is how humans live life vs animals. Sure we can avoid getting eaten out in the prarie, but at what cost? I am only entertaining the idea that living on pure instinct like an animal does would define intelligence better than where humans are at now. Animals are able to experience all of the great things humans are without a lot of the negative side effects (war, famine, prejudice list goes on and on).

[Forgettable]

COmpletely disagree with that statement. There are many different types of intelligence.

Yes, there are many types of intelligence. However, they are measurable. So if you choose to disagree with me on that fact, then you're objectively wrong and we have nothing else to discuss.

[Fascinate]

Yes, there are many types of intelligence. However, they are measurable. So if you choose to disagree with me on that fact, then you're objectively wrong and we have nothing else to discuss.

If there are many types of intelligence who says running on pure instict cannot enter the fray?

[Shadowferal]

Intelligence may be measurable, but we as a whole are barely self-aware.

[GodlyBob]

We are the most intelligent thing on the planet and this is for the simple reason that we are the only animal right now that has the ability to pass down knowledge perfectly. Our capacity for language is unmatched. Any new thing discovered was almost immediately shared whether by intention or not, which made said bit of information incredibly difficult to lose; after the invention of writing, it became next to impossible to completely lose information. This accumulation of information is also the reason why technological advancement sped up over time. All of this was because we are able to communicate abstract concepts vocally and not through direct example.

There may be animals out there which can actually learn a whole lot faster than us, but they start at the bottom of advancement because their achievements are individual. Octopuses for example are very quick and versatile learners, but they have absolutely no way to pass information from generation to generation as each successive batch of new cephalopods is created at the expense of their parents. As soon as some other animal can grunt to a companion "I wonder what we're going to eat for dinner tomorrow" instead of just "food is over there", I might consider them a candidate for most intelligent species, but we have yet to see that happen.

[Fascinate]

We are the most intelligent thing on the planet and this is for the simple reason that we are the only animal right now that has the ability to pass down knowledge perfectly. Our capacity for language is unmatched. Any new thing discovered was almost immediately shared whether by intention or not, which made said bit of information incredibly difficult to lose; after the invention of writing, it became next to impossible to completely lose information. This accumulation of information is also the reason why technological advancement sped up over time. All of this was because we are able to communicate abstract concepts vocally and not through direct example.

There may be animals out there which can actually learn a whole lot faster than us, but they start at the bottom of advancement because their achievements are individual. Octopuses for example are very quick and versatile learners, but they have absolutely no way to pass information from generation to generation as each successive batch of new cephalopods is created at the expense of their parents. As soon as some other animal can grunt to a companion "I wonder what we're going to eat for dinner tomorrow" instead of just "food is over there", I might consider them a candidate for most intelligent species, but we have yet to see that happen.

Glad a reply like this popped up. None of what you said can i dispute on a human definition of intelligence. What i am proposing in this thread is something different altogether. Because animals are not burdened with all of the things the human mind inherently are encumbered with, is it possible they are the more intelligent species. They KNOW how to live life when they are born, they dont have serial killers, rapists, racists, slanderers, list goes on and on.

Human definition sure we are at the top, i am asking something different entirely.

[Alvito]

If there was something smarter we wouldn't be on the top of the food chain.

Yup that is how it works in nature, the smartest creature wins! That is why sharks and lions are so deadly, their big brains... oh and the sharp teeth, muscles, claws with the lions, hunting in groups. Oh wait that just means they are bigger and stronger.

[Soeroah]

And how exactly are we not?

Different kinds of intelligence. As for the food chain, there are animals that eat humans, we've just used our intelligence to overcome them. Without those tools, though, we aren't worth shit against a lion, so I don 't know that I'd say we are at the top of the food chain. Our intelligence is geared toward adapting the environment to suit our species, which we're very good at, but that's not the end goal of intelligence.

[Shadowferal]

Intelligent?
I don't believe that our way of thinking has changed for thousands of years.

But since we have knowledge that has piggy-backed generation after generation...but little else.

Deprive a person of his/her technology and we see how smart s/he really is.

[Revi]

Yup that is how it works in nature, the smartest creature wins! That is why sharks and lions are so deadly, their big brains... oh and the sharp teeth, muscles, claws with the lions, hunting in groups. Oh wait that just means they are bigger and stronger.

Uh, Lions are only alive at the moment because we decided to stop people killing them for fun.

Sharks are in a separate environment, but we still manage to kill 100 million sharks a year.

We're so far above them on the "foodchain" that it's not even comparable.

[Fascinate]

Wish i never said anything about food chain, was a really poor choice of words for this topic.

If you can, try and ignore any comments in regards to that subject.

[unbound]

Intelligence is completely subjective as we all know. Extrapolate that to the extreme, are we smarter than animals because we can build skyscrapers or map our DNA? Or is it possible animals are smarter because they know burdening yourself with such things is an exercise in futility.

No, we are the smartest on this planet. It isn't just that we make skyscrapers, it is the fundamental understanding of the processes (e.g. physics, chemistry) behind the creation of such things. Which allows for much more impressive feats such as able to travel to other planets.

I have always heard people say we are at the top of the food chain because we are the only species that posses the ability to express empathy, but maybe its the complete opposite.

Absolutely not true at all. Many, if not most, mammals clearly demonstrate empathy. Other animals may be able to do this as well, but we really haven't studied it very well.

I just get really sick of people patting themselves on the back lol. We arent that smart, sure we have accomplished some things but we also have debilitating flaws that no other species in the animal kingdom has.

I would say the bigger issue is that despite being the smartest on this planet, it is entirely possible that we are absolute morons in the galaxy. We are rapidly destroying the capability of our planet to sustain us easily due pursuit of the ultimate deity (money)...even if you are a climate change denier, you can't deny that there are finite resources available on this planet and we are depleting them far too rapidly to be sustainable for more than a few hundred years.

I have no doubt that any advanced civilization that may have noticed us views us as immature children or only very slightly better / smarter than common ants.

[oxymoronic]

God is in the universe.

lol who? never met a species named god.

[Teebone]

Doesn't matter. Humans are the smartest creatures on this planet by any metric.

You've never worked retail, have you?

[tankbug]

There might be creatures that are undetectable to us, that we don't recognize the existence of, but they must be a huge step above us in complexity. If there were smarter mammals or something conventional, we would surely know about them, and probably be their slaves or pets.

[athleet]

Intelligence is completely subjective as we all know. Extrapolate that to the extreme, are we smarter than animals because we can build skyscrapers or map our DNA? Or is it possible animals are smarter because they know burdening yourself with such things is an exercise in futility.

I have always heard people say we are at the top of the food chain because we are the only species that posses the ability to express empathy, but maybe its the complete opposite.

I just get really sick of people patting themselves on the back lol. We arent that smart, sure we have accomplished some things but we also have debilitating flaws that no other species in the animal kingdom has.

The fact you debating this doesnt make us the smartest beings??!?!?!? no troll

[Jotaux]

Anything an animal can do, humans can find a way to do better because of our intelligence.

[Ornerybear]

Intelligent?
I don't believe that our way of thinking has changed for thousands of years.

But since we have knowledge that has piggy-backed generation after generation...but little else.

Deprive a person of his/her technology and we see how smart s/he really is.

saying "deprive a human of their technology" is like saying deprive them of using their brain. put a person in the woods and they will develop rudimentary "technology" out of what is available to survive. Our critical thinking and tool (technology) creation is what sets us apart.

[Shadowferal]

We are certainly not the wisest beings on the planet...