Human intelligance

[ZenRaiden]

I have been thinking about human intelligence. One thing I noticed that a part from humans there are no other as intelligent beings as humans. This to me seems a bit odd since intelligence from evolutionary stand point gives a great advantage to the species of humans. Not only there are no other like us, but the closest are primates that fall too much behind the intelligence race. They are not that intelligent as we are. Then there are animals like elephants, dogs, dolphins etc. Why is it that homo erectus got extinct. Why did the Neanderthals get extinct. Why did any of the intelligent get extinct. And why did the primates survive? Is there any explanation to this?
Given how different humans are I am suprised that only humans had achived this great jump of evolution. We are by far the most specialized creatures in terms of intelligence. Did we get lucky for some reason or did we simply out compete the others?

 

[Cognisant]

Singing.

Language was a huge development but strictly speaking we're not the only species that can speak, primates, orcas, meerkats, even ants & bees can communicate, I think the difference is we also use our ability to make noise to entertain each other and thus like peacock feathers our vocal cords evolved in size and sophistication. With better vocal cords our language developed and as we could express more abstract ideas our minds became more abstract, our brains haven't really changed much in ten thousand years but our minds have developed tremendously.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Well our large skulls makes giving birth risky and our brains require a lot of calories. Plus.. Just how far behind are the other intelligent primates really? I mean a human without education living in the Jungle isn't all that smart, plus there's no really tangible way to measure intelligence precisely enough to put different species on a scale.

I can imagine after a certain threshold has been breached, intelligence becomes a lot more practically potent. I mean if the higher primates had vocal chords capable of producing speech they could speak. Sure they wouldnt have a lot of syntax but they could use nouns verbs and adjectives effectively making themselves understood.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I think you bring up a good question. The question becomes is intelligence necessary and/or sufficient. You could infer that intelligence is not sufficient to proliferation. It's not even necessary when you think about all the organisms such as krill, amebas, etc..Intelligence is only one variable in a complex interplay of other factors. Primates (arguably one of the most intelligent) could be dying off if humans ceased to intervene at keeping their environment intact.

I speculate that it's the type of intelligence we evolved to have. Cherry makes a good point, intelligence alone in one person can only take you so far but our's is a social intelligence on a massive scale. Cooperation, group cohesiveness, kinship groups, along with a tolerance for wide individual freedom within the group played a big part in our success. You can even think about these factors in relation to Fe and Fi. Additionally, our species has an adaptability that takes an inhospitable environment and turns it to our favor. We can adapt to many different climates or rapid changes to our environment. We are no longer at the whim of change that threaten our survival.

 

[kora]

Nice thread. Yes, I think the development of language and communication has had a huge effect on our intelligence, language affects thoughts and thoughts affect language, a kind of cycle, and it grows as the level of communication grows, the two are intrinsically linked in us. Transmission of information both within the brain and from person to person is what intelligence is and what builds it, it's all very beautiful

Maybe now that we're more and more able to communicate (internet phones etc...) we'll become more intelligent. I heard IQ's are rising over generations, needs some research, bye.

 

[Ada]

Interesting idea that humans are a paedomorphic version of gorillas - the shape of our skulls and position of spinal cord is similar to that of a baby gorilla.

Also the development of cooked foods. Frees up jaw space since cooked doesn't require as much energy to consume, plus gives us about 3x extra calories than raw foods (diet, anyone?). Big brains need more energy, and the development of cooked foods may have contributed to the retention of large brain size.

...hence, intelligence?

Not sure about validity, but measuring intelligence from the number of neuronal connections? If efficiency in processing is placed under intelligence, perhaps the extent of myellination (in the CNS as opposed to PNS, unless motor-efficiency is accounted for)?

 

[ZenRaiden]

I am really wondering wether humans simply outcompeted other types of humanoids and killed them off or it was all just natural evolution and these other types of intelligent humans simply died out for not being as adapted as humans can.

 

[BigApplePi]

Human intelligance is better?

There is something that brings humans to intelligence that jumps them beyond whoever is next in line. What could that be? Human intelligence is a level above. Speech and language and an opposable thumb are the tools. I don't think they alone do the trick. Other animals can make sounds or have hands, but still lack human intelligence. It's that humans have both of those and a brain to do some coordination. What coordination? Humans can make records (history) allowing for a quantum leap in learning. Some other animals can pass on learning creating a little history. But we can write it down, allowing us to build. This "building" gives us the appearance and the reality(?) of intelligence.

We need an example to clarify. Primates can monkey around to provide a little history. Monkeys can remember who is the alpha male and the beta. But we are so smart we can create sixteen temperaments, write them down and talk about the subtleties of those. Isn't that more intelligent?

Nowadaze we or "something" is becoming even more intelligent. We've gone beyond our opposable thumb and can get something called "electronics" (what's that?) to record history at lightning speeds and to pass that history on to millions all at the same time. Is that a new intelligence? I'm not too sure that's intelligence. I think it's only complexity. Ya know every time we imagine we are crowded, we use our intelligence creatively to make intelligent war. Furthermore because there are so much of us we smartly are using up all the resources that allow us to continue intelligently.

The more the merrier or the more the gloomier? We sure know how to live well. Is that intelligence?

 

[HsinHsin]

Given how different humans are I am suprised that only humans had achived this great jump of evolution. We are by far the most specialized creatures in terms of intelligence. Did we get lucky for some reason or did we simply out compete the others?

Aren't we here because we are so different?

Why are we so different? I'd like to think that we got lucky (if we don't end up killing one another).

Sorry but I feel like I am a monkey from time to time.

 

[SilentStorm]

From what I've gathered in my research of human intelligence. Humans are not that much more intelligent than other species. We have a slightly larger pre frontal cortex than most other mammals. But the main reason we seem so much more intelligent than other animals is basically because of thousands of years of development. Take feral children for example, when humans grow up with no human contact they are far from intelligent. Humans just have a better ability to learn.

 

[Thurlor]

From everything I have learnt human intelligence seems to be the result of numerous inter-connected things. A few of these are;
- We began cooking our food which gave us access to more energy.
- We domesticated wild animals, specifically the dog.
- We developed a language complex enough to allow us to pass on information.

Plenty of people seem to think that we are only at our level of intelligence because of our culture/s. If this is the case then why are humans the only species that seems to have such a complex cultural life?

I remember reading somewhere that neuronal density relative to creature size seems to be the determining factor in intelligence.