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Why are we much more sucessfull in evolution than other animals?


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The dog has been around for only tens of thousands of years, yet it sprints much faster than us. What makes the dog so successful at evolution.

 

(The answer is that we value things that humans are good at because we are human, and when you define success that way, humans come out on top. If you pick a different metric, many, many animals beat us in a great number of categories. Evolution doesn't have an "end goal" of making things smarter).

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Intelligence is of questionable value in the evolutionary game of survival:

 

1. Our intelligence has not stopped us indulging in killing fellow members of the species at a greater rate than is seen in most animals.

2. Our intelligence has produced technologies that are currently threatening our own continued existence as a species.

 

On this basis intelligence is very much a two edged sword. (One that we don't appear to have the intelligence to handle.)

 

If you really want to see success in evolution then look at rats and cockroaches.

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Intelligence is but one niche of evolution that a species can exploit. We are successful in that we occupy that niche, but other species are just as successful in occupying other niches.

 

Our success at exploiting intelligence happened because of other features we evolved, such as bipedal locomotion, leaving our hands free to do things, and opposable thumbs, giving us increased ability to use tools.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We are not "much more succesful in evolution" than other species. We simply have a more evolved/more efficient cerebral cortex. We are not as superior to our fellow living beings as we think we are.

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Some animals have been around hundreds of thousands of years before us, yet none have evolved to be as intelligent as humans. What makes us so sucessful in evolution?

I dont think its that we are so much better. Different creatures adapt in different ways. I think the thing about humans is that we evolved to be the most adaptable to all situations. So our main skill is adaptability where as most creatures evolve in a way that suits special situations. You will notice most creatures will have 1-3 special defined features. However humans have none of that. We are very balanced if you think about it. We have better eyes but not great eyes, we have decent hearing but not great hearing, we can run but we can also build muscle. The way humans are built we can build on any part of these features which makes us very adaptable. I think the adaptability is what puts humans on top but if you think about it there is a lot of animals in this world that could so easily kill a human.

 

As well as this we have done something most creatures have not done. We told nature we don't like your rules and we made our own. Instead of living in a hole we made in the ground we made mud and concrete houses. We did not have light all hours of the day so someone invented the light bulb and learned to harness electricity. Though even before that people used candles. Which is still telling mother nature "We don't want to play by your rules" and now they are able to make test tube babies. Part of the reason we are so far along is that we broke the rules. We told nature we don't care what rules you set in place we are going to do whatever we please. We defied the rules of nature and so we are far less limited than most of animals in the kingdom. Though again we could probably not do this if we were not built the way we are. It would be a lot more difficult if we had paws.

Edited by Marshalscienceguy
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Some animals have been around hundreds of thousands of years before us, yet none have evolved to be as intelligent as humans. What makes us so sucessful in evolution?

 

I looked up the oldest species on earth, and of course humans are not on the list. So, if science has fossil evidence that dates a jellyfish back 500 million years and a sponge 700, what does science have on us pre-ape? It has speculation. Human existence, for the sake of excusing blindness, seems to start from the scientific book of Genesis--and behold there was ape. Your question could have many speculative answers like, humor. Why do bi-pedals laugh all the way too the bank?

 

It would seem that all creatures do not or are not capable of evolution. Yet, that statement is 100, not ninety nine point nine, but 100 percent false. Every thing on earth is a product of what-have-you floating around this solar system, gravitating towards some sort of center five or six billion years ago. Spin this space dust, yeah you, you piece of evolved space dust, you and me both! The bird would suggest that creatures evolve to meet the demands of survival. Nevertheless and completely unlikely, what if the history of our evolution is the oldest on the planet? What if we are the result of that first lightning bolt struck into water containing a mix of atmosphere and elements or the pre-historic voltage of said lightning bolt, that has yet to be recreated. Was there several, hundreds, thousands, millions of first lifeforms, or does it all come from the first f**k? Do we have the ultimate head start? Was our species hanging at the front of the dam when it broke, forcing us to lead? Were we the first too...?

 

It is all nature, no matter what. Wax philosophical enough and there is no difference between this computer and a rose. The earth grew it all. This solar system grew the earth. The Milky Way grew this system, and the Big Bang grew the Milky Way. As a matter of fact, thanks for this post. You have brought me to understand my great-grandma ma is the Big Bang. Grand ma ma Big Bang, can I have some pea soup for dinner? Cool question...It always poses fun pondering beginnings beginnings.

Edited by K Sky
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