New paper by Charles Lineweaver---a world-class cosmologist who also does astrobiology. The new paper bears on estimating the possible rarity of extrasolar civilization

 

http://arxiv.org/abs/0711.1751

Paleontological Tests: Human-like Intelligence is not a Convergent Feature of Evolution

Charles H. Lineweaver

14 pages, 6 figures, to be published in "From Fossils to Astrobiology" Edt J. Seckbach and M. Walsh, Springer 2008

(Submitted on 12 Nov 2007)

 

"We critically examine the evidence for the idea that encephalization quotients increase with time. We find that human-like intelligence is not a convergent feature of evolution. Implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are discussed."

 

=======UPDATE=======

I initially posted this in Astronomy forum but then decided it fits better in Evo-Exo forum, so I moved it here.

It may sound kinda weird, but I personally think that the quest for finding extra-terrestrial intelligence is just a waste of time! Even if out there is any sign of that, they're smart enough not to be observed!

New paper by Charles Lineweaver---a world-class cosmologist who also does astrobiology. The new paper bears on estimating the possible rarity of extrasolar civilization

 

http://arxiv.org/abs/0711.1751

Paleontological Tests: Human-like Intelligence is not a Convergent Feature of Evolution

Charles H. Lineweaver

14 pages, 6 figures, to be published in "From Fossils to Astrobiology" Edt J. Seckbach and M. Walsh, Springer 2008

(Submitted on 12 Nov 2007)

 

"We critically examine the evidence for the idea that encephalization quotients increase with time. We find that human-like intelligence is not a convergent feature of evolution. Implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are discussed."

 

So let me get this strait. They did a study to see if any other organisms were ever as smart as humans? There's a productive use of grant money.

I think the issue is defining what type of intelligence we are looking for, because that term isn't even defined among us humans.

 

Otherwise, I skimmed the article and the paper seems to probably be related in speculating what an intelligent extraterrestrial could probably look like, and the probability of finding such features on other worlds.

So let me get this strait. They did a study to see if any other organisms were ever as smart as humans?...

Could you clarify your comment please, CDarwin?

At the moment your comment doesn't seem to me to connect with the article we're talking about.

==========================

 

everybody,

here is a sample from page 8, in case you are interested.

"What Drake, Sagan and Conway-Morris

have done is interpret correlated parallel moves in evolution as if they were

unconstrained by shared evolution but highly constrained by a universal selection

pressure towards intelligence that could be extrapolated to extraterrestrials. I am arguing

just the opposite -- that the apparently independent evolution toward higher E.Q. is

largely constrained by shared evolution with no evidence for some universal selection

pressure towards intelligence. If this view is correct, we cannot extrapolate the trends

toward higher E.Q. to the evolution of extraterrestrials."

 

this is an essay, of course, contributing to a decades long debate. I thought he made some telling points on page 10.

 

the debate is far from over.

Could you clarify your comment please, CDarwin?

Your comment doesn't seem to connect with the article we're talking about.

 

That appears to be what the paper was about, at least from the section you quoted and my very cursory skimming. "All life doesn't tend to evolve toward human-like intelligence, in fact only one organism on earth has, so that evolution is pretty unlikely." If that's an accurate summary of the point of the study, then I think that's a bit of a "duh."