Technically, you don't need *that* much intelligence to be reproductively successful. Remember that from an evolutionary standpoint, you just need to reproduce. Many species like corvids, monkeys, and dolphins are intelligent. So if you're intelligent enough to make babies then you're good.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

If you don't need that much intelligence there is absolutely no point for humans to be this intelligent. Yes dolphins are intelligent, but why isn't there a human-like civilization under water? Couldn't species similar to dolphins have evolved to reach human-like intelligence similar as humans evolved from apes?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Something tells me dolphins would have a hard time getting fire to work. Not sure why, though.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Well they don't have thumbs, so that's a pretty big obstacle to overcome

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Evolution doesn't have a *point.* It's an emergent phenomenon, not an anticipatory one.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

They could but haven't yet.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

You're seeing this from a human perspective. If we consider the animals in the ocean, being able to make a spear isn't going to do much against a killer whale, and there's no wood. So no fire, tools are practically worthless and largely unavailable, the food web relies on more smaller photosynthetic microorganisms rather than larger plants like on land, so no crops. Underwater civilisation would be effectively impossible

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Kind of sounds like you're assuming that humans are the most successful animal on this planet and not ants, krill, or one of the other species that dwarf humans by every way you measure it.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

How successful is successful. Bees outnumber us and are found on every (not antartica) continent, even in the far north. Beetles have larger variety and abundance and live in more habitats than any other specie. Ants may possibly outweigh humans in terms of mass when all combined. Sloths are more successful than humans as there have been sloths longer than Sapians... Flowering plants have us beat by some 30 M years... Is higher intelligence successful or do we just like to gloat because it is the trait we have? "The brain is the most important organ, according to the brain" personally it is probably my liver...

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Free thinkers are harder to exploit. Civilisation has been built on exploitation. What did you expect? Civility?

by Anonymous 2 years ago