Animals with equal intelligence to humans could still not compete with us

Sounds like someone has been struggling with issues of inadequacy.

Hands and fingers

we are just plain better wrote:

Our brains alone did not create our amazing global civilization. There is culture, physical advantages, and long development of collective knowledge. With the same brains, we used to make stone tools and sew animal skins, was about the best we could do.

A bear with an IQ of 100 could not do more than the current bear stuff. It could not build a cave, plant its berries, invent math, or anything. It has no opposable thumbs, can't handle a complex social system.

Name me one animal that could match our achievements with equal brains alone, and why.

These incredibly deep and complex thoughts so expertly stated are why I simply cannot quit letsrun.

Romulans

Intelligence doesn't always come packaged with ambition. If, say, there were a whale with equal intelligence to us, would it really care about developing advanced tech? For a long time, even humans didn't care.

Cephalopods would come very close had there been a version of them that evolved to live on land. Depending on the task, there could be a few that are currently smarter than you.

Some researchers argue that certain species of great apes, such as chimpanzees and bonobos, have cognitive capabilities that, if enhanced to human levels, could lead to remarkable achievements.

How about this. Humans are primates and the smartest primates eat the most fruits and least greens whilst the dumbest eat the least fruits but most greens. Since humans are also primates with greater cognitive ability we should be eating the most fruit of any primate yet we are getting dumber and sicker, fatter and lazier than ever in history.

Here's another thing if humans are so smart why do many animals instinctively prioritize the well-being of their ecosystems for survival, while humans frequently engage in behaviors that degrade the environment and jeopardize their own future.

Democrats?

Birds can migrate thousands of miles without GPS they don't need technology they have built in instincts. Spiders construct intricate webs without architectural training. Humans struggle to adapt to their surroundings without education and guidance. Animals have inate abilities.

humans may excel in certain intellectual pursuits, animals often demonstrate a deeper understanding of social dynamics and emotional cues. Many animals exhibit empathy, cooperation, and communication skills within their social groups, which are essential for survival. In contrast, humans sometimes struggle with empathy and understanding the emotions of others, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings. Animals may also display a more instinctual wisdom in their decision-making processes, guided by emotional cues and intuition, whereas humans can be influenced by biases, prejudices, and societal pressures that may cloud their judgment. This suggests that, in some ways, animals may possess a form of emotional intelligence that surpasses that of humans.

spaghettilegs222 wrote:

Some researchers argue that certain species of great apes, such as chimpanzees and bonobos, have cognitive capabilities that, if enhanced to human levels, could lead to remarkable achievements.

Hands and fingers poster is on the right track about this. Apes have the wrong shape of wrist bone to have a strong cross-palm grip. They have an up-and-down grip that lets them hang from a tree branch forever, but not grasp a spear or sew a mocassin.

So, apes could never build machines, or even probably make metal. I hypothesize that no animal but us could make metal, no matter how smart.

spaghettilegs222 wrote:

Some researchers argue that certain species of great apes, such as chimpanzees and bonobos, have cognitive capabilities that, if enhanced to human levels, could lead to remarkable achievements.

How about this. Humans are primates and the smartest primates eat the most fruits and least greens whilst the dumbest eat the least fruits but most greens. Since humans are also primates with greater cognitive ability we should be eating the most fruit of any primate yet we are getting dumber and sicker, fatter and lazier than ever in history.

Here's another thing if humans are so smart why do many animals instinctively prioritize the well-being of their ecosystems for survival, while humans frequently engage in behaviors that degrade the environment and jeopardize their own future.

Humans are not getting dumber. There are plenty who strive for scientific advancement and are interested in rational debate. The internet and the media skew everyone's outlook on the current state of human intelligence.

Do animals really prioritize their ecosystem? I was under the impression that they don't really care, but just live in harmony with it naturally since they have no way to truly pollute anything.

Appreciation?? wrote:

Intelligence doesn't always come packaged with ambition. If, say, there were a whale with equal intelligence to us, would it really care about developing advanced tech? For a long time, even humans didn't care.

If it could, evolution would see that it would. It would advantage the whale that did it, over the other whales.

Human ingenuity depended on ability to extensively manipulate the environment. We may not have innovated much during the long stone age, but even sewing and making fire was light years ahead of what animals could think of. They aren't constantly idly making things with their hands like we are.

This results in random innovations like the discovery of the club in 2001 a space odyssey. I think where it really took off was learning how to make metal and bricks. The end of the stone age concentrated populations, where before the scattered small tribes couldn't retain enough knowledge to make anything fancy.

we are just plain better wrote:

Our brains alone did not create our amazing global civilization. There is culture, physical advantages, and long development of collective knowledge. With the same brains, we used to make stone tools and sew animal skins, was about the best we could do.

A bear with an IQ of 100 could not do more than the current bear stuff. It could not build a cave, plant its berries, invent math, or anything. It has no opposable thumbs, can't handle a complex social system.

Name me one animal that could match our achievements with equal brains alone, and why.

If I bears became as smart as people, we could easily beat them by creating the bear version of McDonalds. The US government uses it to control our population with heart-killing cholesterol...I feel like a bear would have a harder time turning down a Big Mac.

I suppose so. We do, after all, stand on the shoulders of giants and generations upon generations of slow advancement over time. Even the most ingenious of humans need a wealth of knowledge from their forefathers to exploit nature's nuances.

If by 'culture' you mean 'unrelenting desire to blow stuff up' then yeah, I guess we're pretty unique on that front.

I'm personally just glad the fungal kingdom hasn't got sick of our nonsense and laid down the law yet. You think AI is terrifying? That sh*t is like Eldritch skynet, and we should all be grateful that they remain largely good dudes delivering psychedelics and delicious burger toppings unto the Earth instead of our long-deserved existential reckoning.

HMMM... Ever see Planet of the Apes?

I hate to break it to you but the club was not invented in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Humans are and have been using outside assistance (i.e. tools) to help them succeed for millions of years. This is basically like doping and thus negates all their achievements.

I would rate whales as the top animal because they haven't cheated the Game of Life like homo-(emphasis on the homo)-sapiens have.

Everydog wrote:

HMMM... Ever see Planet of the Apes?

Where the apes ruled a civilization in technological decay, riding horseback, living in mud-brick buildings, governed by dogmatic "scientists" and violent despotic gorillas.

"Conquest" and "battle" show how the apes rose up to destroy civilization and then quickly reverted to a primitive rural lifestyle.