Comments on: Where are the Smart Caterpillars and Cool Humanoids?

By: Steven Riley

Steven Riley — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:29:57 +0000

This is very good article. It is talk about animals other creatures in the world. This is very usefull for us. New Technology

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:52:53 +0000

Very interesting, Dave!

Let's assume that logic and rational thought is evolved as an ordering system for our wide capacity for emotion, and our range of emotion is evolved out of our broad capacity for conflict production and resolution, which is a result of our combination of physical dexterity.

It may be that our mental smarts are products of our bodies.

By: Rick Grey

Rick Grey — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:42:23 +0000

Another data point, for what it's worth: the current belief is that Neanderthal and Cro Magnon, separate versions of early humans (we're from the Cro Magnon path), co-existed on the planet for around 10,000 years. Anthropologist aren't sure whether the two types ever lived alongside each other, so it would be speculation to say (to your point) that Cro Magnon was directly responsible for killing off the Neanderthals. But it does suggest that, when it comes to human and human-like species, being more awesomer is such a huge evolutionary advantage that there tends to be very little variance at any given point in time.

To take another perspective (read: now I'm just making stuff up), perhaps the human genetic code is more rigid somehow, and less prone to the kinds of mutations that result in greater variety of things like squirrels, bears, monkeys, dogs, and cats. Our brains make us adaptable, so our genetics don't have to.

Last comment: some of the bars I've been to had some things walking around on two legs drinking PBR that I'm not so sure I'd categorize as Homo sapiens. I mean, I didn't take genetic samples or anything, so I've got no proof. But it made me wonder sometimes.

By: Allen

Allen — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:52:01 +0000

Put a Human underwater with an unlimited air supply and see how long they last vs. the others. We aren't all that.

Our opposable thumbs let us take flint and sticks from lightning strikes and do amazing things. I think if dolphins or whales could have the same chance, they could give us a run for our money.

By: Drew @ Cook Like Your Grandmother

Drew @ Cook Like Your Grandmother — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:16:10 +0000

First off: Dolphins. Sure, The Hitchhiker’s Guide made a joke of it, but they *are* pretty smart. And considering how little we know about any number of large marine animals, it’s entirely possible some of them are even smarter. How would we know?

Second: There are plenty of examples of tool-making among other species. So your example of imagining something and making it exist is wrong.

Third: Using a blood test to conclude there is only one species of human is faulty, since there is more variation between individual humans than there is between the average human and the average chimp. The differences are just in different parts of the DNA.

Fourth: To say that no animal is as smart as any human relies on excluding those born with brain defects. Yes, some of these are injuries sustained during birth and don’t count. But lots of them are genetic defects, or random variation. And if a single animal is born with a mutation that grants high intelligence, how would we know?

Fifth: Yes, we *absolutely* would have killed off anything that posed a challenge to our dominance. The only species it pays to keep around are those that can work for us, or we can eat. We routinely drive other high-order predators to the brink of extinction for the crime of eating “our” livestock.