The Physicality of a Species' intelligence

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mtest
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The Physicality of a Species' intelligence

Post by mtest »

I've noticed that the smarter an animal is (as a species: no effect of course, within a species that I can see) the weaker it physically is, or tends to be.

Or, intelligence is intensely subjective and we can't prove our desks aren't self-aware (and I personally suspect that some animals which don't use tools are way smarter than we would have 'believed', 'tis just harder to notice. The more 'clever' an animal is in reacting to its environment on any level...) Neanderthals, which (presumably according to some) weren't quite as smart as us (or at least not as adaptable - maybe they could only shove a spear, not actually throw one, because of their musculature? I needed Google to spell that.) were known to have a much better average strength than us human folk.

Is this because that external innovation allows the physically weak to survive more and more, or what? Is it part of our inherit specialness in the intelligence of our creation? (Or that our creation is intelligent through the intelligent design of perceivable reality itself?) Is this locked in with the social systems of the creatures? Is it a mere coincidence that us, the most prolific of tool-users, are the weakest primates alive? In terms of both arm-wrestling potential and general physical resilience.

People often even report that the aliens are little green dudes with over sized heads. :)

I'd be interested to know what anybody else has to say about this!
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xavier
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Post by xavier »

It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.
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stoneCold
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Post by stoneCold »

xavier wrote:
It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.
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