Are we really as smart as we think we are? http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161108-weve-got-human-intelligence-all-wrong We’ve got human intelligence all wrong www.bbc.com "When it comes to brainpower, we humans think our minds are the bees’ knees – but are we really as smart as we think?" [ The biggest difference between us and the other animals of the world is that we are so much smarter. But are we really? Are animals actually smarter than we think or are we dumber then we think? ] ----------------------------------------- "libido sciendi"..... the passion to know
Science has a very good answer for you. We do not use the term "Know" very often because we "know" we do not "Know". Perhaps the Dolphin has intellectual prowess far beyond human...but, we do not understand it and therefore do not "Know". Smarter is also a rather silly word in this case, a dolphin is far smarter than I am at catching fish but cannot figure out a Rubics cube.
Ok, this is a subject I am familiar with and the answer is yes and no. A person could memorise the entire knowledge of what we do know, does this make that person smart? No , it means the person has a good memory, this does not necessarily make them smart. This probably applies to most of the general population, they have the knowledge, they can copy procedure mimicking process and are competent of doing this, however they lack the ability of independent ingenuity . People who are smart tend to be the ones who can invent things, also the ones who can have their own theories about something. For not to think for oneself is just being a part of the ''Borg''. So in reality some people are smart, but most are just part of the collective and following protocol.
Oh I like this one. Being smart and what criteria we are using to define it is highly subjective... like physical beauty. Both previous responses to the OP are both right but looking at the question and defining smart in their own way. Modern societies have some standards both east and west agree on when judging smartness and even allow for liberal art smartness and so on.. But I was watching a Nat Geo show and this guy lived with these villagers and these villagers could find food in the most bizarre places, construct things with the most rudimentary tools that functioned perfectly and it was apparent they thought very highly of those craftsmen as well. Are they not just as smart as some one living in the modern world who just happened to have a good memory and does well on a MENSA test so we declare them a genius? I bet by their societies standard of smartness the MENSA person would have if dropped in there would rank quite low on their smart scale. I think all of this subjectiveness in my analogy above... if we try can be translated to other species. By whoms standards? Our own arrogant ones? So no I don't think we are as smart as we think we are. I don't think we are the smartest species. What we are is the most adaptable animal species on the planet. Simply because we have the unique capacity to physically change our environment very quickly to allow us to survive.
Well I would have to say that when it comes to survival on a world wide scale, we are not very good at surviving. What I mean by this is that our very own self destructive nature shows how stupid as humans we really are. I personally in life try to predict my future paths, one direction could lead to disaster where another path could lead to happiness. In example Imagine I was a mountain climber, the path I have chosen is to climb mountains and risk my own life every time I climb a mountain. In this example I can already predict there is an element of danger and a risk factor involved, there is a a good chance the more I do it, the more likely hood of an early death. Therefore my example I would avoid it like the plague and stick to climbing small ladders. However another person who as just finished University and as several degrees, chooses this path, in my opinion that is not very smart at all.
