Show me a human that can find it's way through magnetics, sonar or smell.BallPtPenTheif said:
Actually, show me a human under 14 that's capable of living by itself. Most animals can manage it after less than a year.
Poll: Are Humans Smart?
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Actually, show me a human under 14 that's capable of living by itself. Most animals can manage it after less than a year.
natural genetic advantages having nothing to do with intelligence or smarts. humans can stand upright, but that doesn't matter either. fires or a sweater... pick an animal.The_root_of_all_evil said:
Give an animal 14 years where it is protected by it's parents and allowed to process information whilst not having to fend for itself and I think we'll see similar.
Why would a dog, cat or sheep need a sweater when they could grow their own?
Why would an animal NEED a fire? They adapt to the benefits (heat/light/reduction in harmful bacteria) in their own way.
Just because we have tools that can replicate natural genetic advantages doesn't make us better, because our tools are reliant on the social infrastructure (See bees) or tool adaptation (see octupi, birds, squirrels). That's our genetic advantage.
Judging things on an anthropomorphic level isn't really a fair measure of intelligence. They already have everything they need to survive. Take our tools away and we're no longer able to function as an animal anymore.
Try living for a day without electricity, for example. (Not just your own, but any use of electricity : cars, delivery trucks, freezers). Take away a cat/dog's reliance on humanity, and they'll still be going for a good year.
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Why would a dog, cat or sheep need a sweater when they could grow their own?
Why would an animal NEED a fire? They adapt to the benefits (heat/light/reduction in harmful bacteria) in their own way.
Just because we have tools that can replicate natural genetic advantages doesn't make us better, because our tools are reliant on the social infrastructure (See bees) or tool adaptation (see octupi, birds, squirrels). That's our genetic advantage.
Judging things on an anthropomorphic level isn't really a fair measure of intelligence. They already have everything they need to survive. Take our tools away and we're no longer able to function as an animal anymore.
Try living for a day without electricity, for example. (Not just your own, but any use of electricity : cars, delivery trucks, freezers). Take away a cat/dog's reliance on humanity, and they'll still be going for a good year.
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Smart is a comparative term. Smart as compared to what? If you're just looking at one category (humans) they aren't smart or stupid, they just are. Individual people are smart or stupid as compared to other people, but even that's questionable when you take the environmental upbringing factors into consideration. One thing I can say with a measure of certainty though. This thread is not smart.
Well Lord Krunk
We can't really say that Einstein CREATED E=mc^2. It was always there, he just made a connection. Personally, I find Chadwick to be a better precursor to the A-bomb. Special relativity is fun and all, but until the thirties we didn't understand the concept of neutrons, which really pave the way for nuclear science.
Sure, scientists discover things that get used for horrible wars. Just look at Nobel and dynamite. It's easy to bash chemicals for harmful effects like CFC's, but looking at the positive effects at the time they were great.
Even fossil fuels have been both a blessing and a curse. There is no way we could have gotten through the last century without using them, but we're gonna have to stop using them soon or else it's gonna get real bad.
Religion does still exist. Just like greek mythology still exists. And somehow Germany still exists, despite trying to conquer the world twice and being defeated twice. Even if it doesn't make any logical sense anymore, people will keep on believing in it, even if they are told it is false. Unless you are in Rwanda, then they just kill you and all your family, and those beliefs are removed.
We don't actually need catholics, to be more precise. Figurehead aside, the system of religion is fundamentally flawed and not even backed up by their number one bestselling book for the past 2000 years. (well, really closer to 500, but whatever...)
There are indeed many stupid things people believe, but what allows us to be called smart is the simple truth that if we find something that contradicts perceived truth, we can change. The only stupid people are ones that will not change even with the truth readily available.
We can't really say that Einstein CREATED E=mc^2. It was always there, he just made a connection. Personally, I find Chadwick to be a better precursor to the A-bomb. Special relativity is fun and all, but until the thirties we didn't understand the concept of neutrons, which really pave the way for nuclear science.
Sure, scientists discover things that get used for horrible wars. Just look at Nobel and dynamite. It's easy to bash chemicals for harmful effects like CFC's, but looking at the positive effects at the time they were great.
Even fossil fuels have been both a blessing and a curse. There is no way we could have gotten through the last century without using them, but we're gonna have to stop using them soon or else it's gonna get real bad.
Religion does still exist. Just like greek mythology still exists. And somehow Germany still exists, despite trying to conquer the world twice and being defeated twice. Even if it doesn't make any logical sense anymore, people will keep on believing in it, even if they are told it is false. Unless you are in Rwanda, then they just kill you and all your family, and those beliefs are removed.
We don't actually need catholics, to be more precise. Figurehead aside, the system of religion is fundamentally flawed and not even backed up by their number one bestselling book for the past 2000 years. (well, really closer to 500, but whatever...)
There are indeed many stupid things people believe, but what allows us to be called smart is the simple truth that if we find something that contradicts perceived truth, we can change. The only stupid people are ones that will not change even with the truth readily available.
Define smart. is being able to play beethoven's 4th smart? If so, Take that person and throw him into the wild with nothing. He will die.
Take Purplerain away from his compooter, and throw him into the wild. Is he still smart without technology? Think about that.
Take Purplerain away from his compooter, and throw him into the wild. Is he still smart without technology? Think about that.
Humans are stupid as compared to how intelligent they generally tend to think they are.jthm said:
In the grand scheme of things, humans are the smartest creatures on the planet.
In GENERAL humans are not very smart.
For example:
The current president of the united states
The people who VOTED for him
Creationism
The list can go on.
In GENERAL humans are not very smart.
For example:
The current president of the united states
The people who VOTED for him
Creationism
The list can go on.
I especially like the saying "A person is smart, people are dumb" it pretty much sums it up.
Singularly a human can be very intelligent. In small groups much can be accomplished. but in large groups we tend to go along with the crowd even if it doesnt make sense.
The fact is were afraid of standing out and being different. Not to mention if something goes wrong its a typical human reaction to think someone else will take care of it.
While Humans can be intelligent we're also incredibly smug about it. Which goes to some idiots heads making them incredibly arrogant. But then what constitutes as "intelligent" can often be a subjective question. If someone intelligent spoke a sentence with very complex words, another person who might not know what that person said believe it was all jibberish and say the intelligent person is infact a moron.
So heres something to think about, would an intelligent person know he was intelligent if there were no morons or commoners around? Humans like to know who they are by comparing themselves to others. Maybe the finding of intelligent life on other planets will settle the question if humans are smart or not.
Singularly a human can be very intelligent. In small groups much can be accomplished. but in large groups we tend to go along with the crowd even if it doesnt make sense.
The fact is were afraid of standing out and being different. Not to mention if something goes wrong its a typical human reaction to think someone else will take care of it.
While Humans can be intelligent we're also incredibly smug about it. Which goes to some idiots heads making them incredibly arrogant. But then what constitutes as "intelligent" can often be a subjective question. If someone intelligent spoke a sentence with very complex words, another person who might not know what that person said believe it was all jibberish and say the intelligent person is infact a moron.
So heres something to think about, would an intelligent person know he was intelligent if there were no morons or commoners around? Humans like to know who they are by comparing themselves to others. Maybe the finding of intelligent life on other planets will settle the question if humans are smart or not.
The Unified Pratchett Group IQ Equation
Group IQ = (Dumbest Group Member IQ)/(Population of Group)
It's fun to say that people are dumb a person is smart, but as mentioned before "smart" is a comparative term. Even if all technology were arbitrarily taken away from humans we can just re-engineer/reverse engineer it again.
As for doing without technology... we can. Our ancestors had an interesting tactic to hunt larger game: scare it into running over a cliff. Requires no tangible tech, had to be found or figured out.
'Fish aren't smart; they can't walk on land!'
If the term 'smart' is usually used in reference to abstract intelligence, and we are compared to other species we win out. If the term 'smart' is being used to compare our innate abilities to a specific task that is not of our ken there's little point. Is there a point to saying a barracuda can react in .015 seconds compared to our .3 seconds? I figure there's not much considering that our abstract intelligence also allows us to bypass situations in which we are naturally at a disadvantage by making new technology.
Group IQ = (Dumbest Group Member IQ)/(Population of Group)
It's fun to say that people are dumb a person is smart, but as mentioned before "smart" is a comparative term. Even if all technology were arbitrarily taken away from humans we can just re-engineer/reverse engineer it again.
As for doing without technology... we can. Our ancestors had an interesting tactic to hunt larger game: scare it into running over a cliff. Requires no tangible tech, had to be found or figured out.
'Fish aren't smart; they can't walk on land!'
If the term 'smart' is usually used in reference to abstract intelligence, and we are compared to other species we win out. If the term 'smart' is being used to compare our innate abilities to a specific task that is not of our ken there's little point. Is there a point to saying a barracuda can react in .015 seconds compared to our .3 seconds? I figure there's not much considering that our abstract intelligence also allows us to bypass situations in which we are naturally at a disadvantage by making new technology.
I find it odd how it has become the 'cool' 'independent' and 'witty' to start heckleing humanity's intellegence.
Let me defend my species from itself by saying that by stating humans are idiots we are effectivly saying humans are stupid compared to other life-forms. Humans have had many technological, artistic and cultural achievements that no animal has matched, for example:
Have chimps managed to create things like the rocket engine, suspention bridges and computers? No
Has any animal created an advanced social and economic system of government? Someone please inform me when they find dolphins practicing communism and establishing exchange rates.
Many people have talked about the lowest common denominator showing our inherent stupidity while the few handful of exceptional geneius' explain our many achievments (frequent mention goes to the difference between a person and people). Explaining this difference does very little to prove your point. If we say people are stupid, that is including everyone, both the most and least intelligent examples of mankind. To suggest otherwise is to point out the blatanly obvious(if you say people are stupid when you are only refering to the most retarded people you can think of, you haven't really proven much).
PS: I haven't taken the time to read what everyone has said so don't critisise me if quite a few people agree with me prior to what I've written here.
Let me defend my species from itself by saying that by stating humans are idiots we are effectivly saying humans are stupid compared to other life-forms. Humans have had many technological, artistic and cultural achievements that no animal has matched, for example:
Have chimps managed to create things like the rocket engine, suspention bridges and computers? No
Has any animal created an advanced social and economic system of government? Someone please inform me when they find dolphins practicing communism and establishing exchange rates.
Many people have talked about the lowest common denominator showing our inherent stupidity while the few handful of exceptional geneius' explain our many achievments (frequent mention goes to the difference between a person and people). Explaining this difference does very little to prove your point. If we say people are stupid, that is including everyone, both the most and least intelligent examples of mankind. To suggest otherwise is to point out the blatanly obvious(if you say people are stupid when you are only refering to the most retarded people you can think of, you haven't really proven much).
PS: I haven't taken the time to read what everyone has said so don't critisise me if quite a few people agree with me prior to what I've written here.