Define what you mean by "intelligence". Great apes, elephants, cetaceans and even cephalopods exhibit both, at least, complex purposeful behaviors (e.g. tools-making/usage) and eusocial arrangements, which implies that h. sapiens are, in fact, not "alone" as an intelligent species contrary to your / this commonplace anthropocentric claim. — 180 Proof
Good point. As usual, your piercing insight has taken you to the heart of the issue.
In my defense, I'd say that so long as intelligent species are the minority, my argument still works - has the party just started (people are arriving) or is the party ending (people are leaving)? — TheMadFool
Define what you mean by "intelligence". Great apes, elephants, cetaceans and even cephalopods exhibit both, at least, complex purposeful behaviors (e.g. tools-making/usage) and eusocial arrangements, which implies that h. sapiens are, in fact, not "alone" as an intelligent species contrary to your / this commonplace anthropocentric claim. — 180 Proof
On Earth, IME, synthetic metacognitive agents are coming next. — 180 Proof
What can you infer from you being the only one at the venue. You're too early, you're the first or you're too late, you're the last. You being alone can have two diametrically opposite meanings. — TheMadFool
Option 3: You're the only guest that is going to the party at all. — Hermeticus
Intelligence also depends on context. — Hermeticus
Also I'll stress this with every human vs animal comparison because it is so essential: The biggest difference which has allowed us to take a dominant role on this planet is over 8000 years of complex symbolic language. The reason that we have this is because our survival knowledge reached a point (agriculture) where survival became much easier and we could focus on other things. — Hermeticus
H. sapiens are alone on earth - we're, given what we've found out, the only species that's intelligent. — TheMadFool
What's the difference between a man deciding to take a back road when his regular route is obstructed by a collision to avoid the inconvenience or hassle and a virus deciding to mutate to avoid succumbing to a vaccine? — Outlander
A virus doesn't decide anything, it adapts to the environment through mutations over generations. — Vince
Both ridiculous assumptions. Viruses and other bacteria are highly intelligent, being able to adapt to their surroundings and gain immunity to threats that once put them in peril. Just because we can't communicate with them or detect any form of thought in the manner of our own doesn't mean they don't "think". What's the difference between a man deciding to take a back road when his regular route is obstructed by a collision to avoid the inconvenience or hassle and a virus deciding to mutate to avoid succumbing to a vaccine? Sure, the man can say "this is why I did this" and anyone listening can smile, nod, and agree, but the same intelligence is present in both cases. That is to say, minus the fancy titles and vocalization, the same effect remains. — Outlander
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