Why are humans the only intelligent life form here on earth?

Favorite Answer

In terms of EQ (a measure of brain size compared to body size), humans indeed have the highest EQ. Animals that have the highest EQ besides humans are, surpsingly, not our closest living relative, the chimp. Instead dolphins and the killer whale have higher EQ than chimps. The chimp in turn has higher EQ than the gorilla. Another surprise is that the Capuchin, a New World monkey, has higher EQ than the chimp.

These surprise findings have scientists theorizing why some animals are smarter than others. Some think that animals that are social are smarter because they need to brain power to manage the relationships. That seems to make sense because humans are social and so are chimps, gorilla and dolphins.

However, the argument falls apart when I heard one scientist claim that the leopard is not as smart as the lion because the lion is social. Unfortunately for him, he got his facts wrong. The leopard, a solitary animal that is closely related to the lion, actually has a higher EQ than the lion Obviously then, being social does not explain why some animals have larger brains. The leopard, being a solitary hunter, has to figure out ways to capture prey without any help from pride members.

If we look more closely at the capuchin, we find that it occupies a wide variety of species. To do so, it must be able to find food in all these types of habitats. The only tool that would allow it to find food in different types of habitats is its brain. A smart animal can figure out how to find food in different types of habitats than a dumb animal If we look at the chimp and the gorilla. That seems to hold true, because gorillas are bigger and they can exclude the chimp from the better areas with more food. The chimp, being smaller, needs to live in a habitat with less food, and so chimps have been coping by finding ways to look for new kinds of food, such as using twigs to fish for termites, ganging up as a group to hunt the faster, more agile monkeys, and using sticks to jab and kill small primates inside tree holes. In fact the gorilla can find so much food that it does not even have to eat meat to supplement its diet.

If we look at our evolutionary history, we may have a reason why we evolved such high level of intelligence. 5 million years ago, our ancestors were still apes But less than half a million years later, we find ape-men living in the savanna type habitats, where there is little food for apes. If we look at our diet, we find that we eat more meat than apes. We eat more meat than the chimp. We also eat food that apes don't such as clams, and tubers (plants that are hidden underground but nutritious, such as potatoes and yam). How else could humans have figured out that tubers and clams can keep us alive if we do not have the intelligence to do it? That means because we were forced to live in a habitat that has so little food, the only way we could have avoided extinction was to be smart enough to find food that other animals do not....Show more

It depends on how you measure intelligence.
If you measure intelligence by an organism's ability to live in harmony with its environment, I would say that humans are the least intelligent - next to viruses.
If you measure intelligence by an organism's ability to work together for the greater good, I would say humans are of average intelligence.
If you measure intelligence by an organism's ability to adapt to its environment, I would say humans are dropping down the list.
If you measure intelligence by an organism's ability to apply its knowledge, humans are somewhere higher up, but not at the top of the list.
Humans aren't the only intelligent life form on Earth. There are many others. Humans have science. plant photosynthesise. Autotrophs decompose organic material. Every creature (and plant) in nature performs its function. We are not more intelligent just because we claim to be. We are certainly the most arrogant. Believing that the universe was created for us is the pinnacle of our hubris. Do you think plants and photosynthesising bacteria hold the world ransom, because they make it possible for complex life to exist on our planet? Why do humans hold the world ransom? Because we believe that we are the most intelligent? Does that make us intelligent at all?...Show more

There are other forms of intelligent life. We are just so far away from anything that we don't know that they exist....Show more

Look at how long life has been evolving, 100s of million of years... then look how long its been from the dawn of civilization to virtual reality... less than 8000....Show more

We just happen to be the first to have developed language good enough to be able to brag about how smart we are.

Gorillas and some other apes can learn sign language and hold conversations using it - and even pass it on to their young.

Crows are extremely intelligent and some can learn to speak English, holding simple conversations and forming sentences. Problem-solving wise, some can match a seven year old child.
They have some form of language of their own and can pass on information about eg. good or bad things/places between themselves.

Various other species have high intelligence and make / use simple tools....Show more