If evolution is true, how come humans are the only intelligent beings?

[Lifer]

Nothing comes close to the intelligence of humans.
Not monkeys, not dolphins... NOTHING.

So if evolution is true, then how come humans are the only that evolved into what we are today?

We do not have any equal.
Most animals have "relatives"... like different species of fish, cats, etc.

 

[Kalvin00]

Because.

 

[damiano]

good question

 

[iwearnosox]

There's intelligent human beings?

Where?

 

[Ryan]

We just beat the odds

 

[BatmanNate]

Some more so than others, apparently.

 

[oblizue]

Intelligence doesn't guarantee success, simplicity sometimes is the best route.

Edit:

Also a problem I think you have is that you assume evolution means a species eventually becomes "better" and that is a common misconception. Evolution doesn't have some sort of end goal, its merely a process that occurs through natural selection that weeds out those that can't cope or adapt to an environment.

 

[rgwalt]

What about dolphins?

Humans say that they are more intelligent because they build cars and cities while dolphins eat fish and play around all day. Dolphins contend they are more intelligent for the same reasons.

Ryan

 

[Looney]

Because we killed off our other intelligent cousins, the Neanderthals.

 

[Bootprint]

We ate them when, they said 'HI'

 

[amnesiac]

Gratuitous Douglas Adams Quote:

]Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons.

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: oblizue
Intelligence doesn't guarantee success, simplicity sometimes is the best route.

makes you wonder how anything other than single celled organisms could possibly evolve. They are the best fit to survive by far.

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: rgwalt
What about dolphins?

Humans say that they are more intelligent because they build cars and cities while dolphins eat fish and play around all day. Dolphins contend they are more intelligent for the same reasons.

Ryan

So the dolphins have told us that they are more intelligent than us? Sounds like someone's been smoking something pretty strong...

 

[spanky]

bah... its all about reproduction.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: rgwalt
What about dolphins?

Humans say that they are more intelligent because they build cars and cities while dolphins eat fish and play around all day. Dolphins contend they are more intelligent for the same reasons.

Ryan

So the dolphins have told us that they are more intelligent than us? Sounds like someone's been smoking something pretty strong...

You take things WAY too seriously. It was a Douglas Adams quote.

 

[BatmanNate]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: rgwalt
What about dolphins?

Humans say that they are more intelligent because they build cars and cities while dolphins eat fish and play around all day. Dolphins contend they are more intelligent for the same reasons.

Ryan

So the dolphins have told us that they are more intelligent than us? Sounds like someone's been smoking something pretty strong...

Way to be literate, my man!

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Evolutionary theory doesn't say anything about intelligence, only the adaptation of organisms to survive in their environment. Just because technological intelligence happens to be a wildly successful means of adaptation for humans doesn't mean that it's a necessary trait for species which are already well-adapted to their environments.

 

[0roo0roo]

depends what you mean. more we learn about the great apes/dolphins/dogs etc the more intelligent they seem. there are types of intelligence of course.

 

[imported_Mike]

you question is faulted already. You should re-evaluate you thinking if you believe humans are the only intelligent beings. What makes humans different is their use of reason.

edit: and if you're serious about thinking about these types of things, i suggest a philosophy class

 

[wyvrn]

Maybe we are just the top of the bell curve here on Earth. There could be 10 million other as intelligent or more intelligent beings on other planets.

 

[slackerinabox]

Evolution has kinda slowed down for us humans ever since we changed from hunter/gatherers to an agricultural society.. Doesn't mean evolution has totally stopped.. I mean, I'm a lot stronger and taller than even my grand father.. I'm too tired to explain that..

 

[wyvrn]

You deserve a :beer:

Originally posted by: FeathersMcGraw
Evolutionary theory doesn't say anything about intelligence, only the adaptation of organisms to survive in their environment. Just because technological intelligence happens to be a wildly successful means of adaptation for humans doesn't mean that it's a necessary trait for species which are already well-adapted to their environments.

 

[oblizue]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: oblizue
Intelligence doesn't guarantee success, simplicity sometimes is the best route.

makes you wonder how anything other than single celled organisms could possibly evolve. They are the best fit to survive by far.

Probably why it took hundreds of millions of years for the conditions to necessitate a change in those single celled organisms. My knowledge is a bit fuzzy on this but when the environment started to become saturated with oxygen, this increase caused the cambrian explosion, which was a huge jump in terms of the complexity of the organisms because they no longer had to rely on anaerobic respiration (w/o oxygen). Aerobic respiration allowed for the organisms to have much more energy and therefore increase in complexity.

 

[konichiwa]

Sig

 

[rgwalt]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: rgwalt
What about dolphins?

Humans say that they are more intelligent because they build cars and cities while dolphins eat fish and play around all day. Dolphins contend they are more intelligent for the same reasons.

Ryan

So the dolphins have told us that they are more intelligent than us? Sounds like someone's been smoking something pretty strong...

I know I butchered the quote, but you need to recognize the Douglas Adams. If you haven't read the Hitchhiker's Guide series, do yourself a favor and get out from behind your screen, do something productive, and read those books.

R