General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIs it possible humans aren't the only intelligent species on Earth and if so --
what other species would be candidate?
Whales?
Apes?
Others?
zappaman
(20,606 posts)Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)fadedrose
(10,044 posts)I never knew that.
People always question me about my signed Jimi Hendrix CD...not sure why.
Throd
(7,208 posts)Baclava
(12,047 posts)What a waste
London, England (CNN) -- Octopuses are so smart they tip-toe around awkwardly on the ocean floor hoarding coconut shells to later build themselves a fort to defend themselves from predators, a new Australian study has found.
"Amazing behavior," said Australian biologist Julian Finn of Museum Victoria in Melbourne, who first observed the octopuses' smart moves while leading a team in Indonesia.
"We were blown away," teammate Mark Norman, head of science at the Museum Victoria, said about the discovery. "It was hard not to laugh underwater and flood your (scuba) mask."
"This is an octopus that runs around collecting cups, stacking them, running along with them underneath its body, and then assembling them as perfect armour if a predator comes along," Norman said. "Planned future use."
It's that forward planning -- and use of tools -- that surprisingly makes the veined octopus one of the smartest animals on Earth.
"Using tools, something we think is very special about humans, exists in other animal groups we've never considered before," said Norman in an interview with Australian television. "A low-life form, a relative of a snail, these octopuses, they're not simple animals."
Finn and Norman were in Indonesia's north Sulawesi region looking for the mimic octopus, when they chanced across the veined octopus doing its thing.
The coconut-carrying -- and subsequent hiding -- makes the veined octopus the newest member of the animal tool-using club, scientists say, an extremely elite group in the animal kingdom.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/15/octopus.study/
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)... and communicate with rapid on-off flashes of their chromatophores. And they can kill you.
Not saying they are trans-dimensional beings who see into the future and could take us down at will.
But maybe?
Baclava
(12,047 posts)those hungry bastards!
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)of our new Overlords, Hail be to They!
Terra Alta
(5,158 posts)and are also very beautiful creatures.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)I've seen them feed themselves and renew their licenses at the DMV.
Pretty sure that constitutes intelligence.
Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)Always love a little snark before bedtime.
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)3catwoman3
(24,026 posts)...limited degree.
aikoaiko
(34,183 posts)Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)IronGate
(2,186 posts)nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)IronGate
(2,186 posts)Glad to see you posting again and thanks, these are the creation of my wife's she says it relieves the stress of her job.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)I went to Comicon and all I got was a lousy cold!!!!
So trying to take it easy. Plane went down, don't want to deal with smoke. Yesterday a hangar went up, nope...I am afraid the next step would be the ER. But we were able to do city hall through the wonders of city tv.
Uben
(7,719 posts)..because we all know they are dumber than a box of rocks!
can't argue with that.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)we don't understand, a very slow-moving type of awareness, with her own type of immune system that can respond to infestations gone wild.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)Define the term first. Frankly, all animals and birds are intelligent without question. One really should be open minded enough to consider all life as intelligent, given what studies have shown about plant and microbial behaviors. You just have to decide what your cutoff is. Maybe viruses. Maybe.
fadedrose
(10,044 posts)They showed an elephant who was rescued from 30-40 years of hard work and bad treatment and released in a safe place....the elephant actually cried from joy.
I don't know what network it was, but am usually on CNN lately...maybe there's a clip. An awesome story...
The rescuers did this on their own, not with permission...
flvegan
(64,411 posts)That word tends to be a judgmental call, based on what the individual believes to be intelligent.
I would suggest that all animal species are intelligent in one capacity or another to begin with.
Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)that we would have to give serious moral consideration of acting in such a way that we would have to reconsider hunting or even domesticating them.
There are some animals where they exhibit traits that make me uncomfortable with the idea they can be harmed or held captive with legal and ethical impunity.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)There are no animals that are not self-aware. It'd be hard to exist without self-awareness. Intelligence? At a standard defined by humans, no doubt.
spend more time around animals, from all clades. You'll find that they're all self-aware, and they're all exactly as intelligent as they need to be. That they aren't humans in miniature makes them no less so.
Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)For future reference: You might want to lead with something other than a judgmental assumption. I live on a homestead. I have chickens, ducks, geese, guineas and goats as well as a dog and cats. We're all very happy with each other, thank-you. I have carried mice caught inside my home 300 yards out into a field so as to not kill them.
I wanted an honest discussion. Not some self-righteous lecture from someone looking down their nose.
flvegan
(64,411 posts)Which begs the question, how can they be "harmed or held captive with legal and ethical impunity" if not sentient?
More importantly, why "some animals" and if that makes you uncomfortable, at what point is this not about you? To wit, you said "me"
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)First Speaker
(4,858 posts)what intelligent species *wouldn't* want to avoid us like the plague...?
Aerows
(39,961 posts)with a higher IQ than your average Republican politician.
3catwoman3
(24,026 posts)...damn sure.
Buns_of_Fire
(17,188 posts)(I figure what with the sea level rising and all, it's never too early to start sucking up. So to speak.)
morningfog
(18,115 posts)oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)Elephants, all wild cats, coyotes and foxes and wolves, any wild animal that has to feed itself is smarter than the House t-folk.
TDale313
(7,820 posts)Are at least a couple of species that are able to look in a mirror and realize they're seeing their own reflection. That is very rare, and shows a level of self awareness that one could classify as intelligence. I imagine some whales can, too.
Half-Century Man
(5,279 posts)It changes over time.
At one time or another it was...
Changes environments to serve needs: until it was pointed out wasps build nests, ants build bridges, beavers build water management systems, termites build armored cities....
Makes and uses tools; until we found out chimpanzees make termite gathering rods out of twigs.
Language: until we found out Great Apes can easily learn ASL, it turns out our Hyloid bone in the neck probably evolved to give us subtle verbal communication, but not a monopoly on language.
Complex languages: until we found out whales have complex codes and may have individual names.