A Civil Discussion: Evolution, Science, Theology, Atheism, Climate

Darth Omar said:
I think it’s pretty debatable, actually.

How can it be that whales are super intelligent and possess real commication skills if they were apparently unable to communicate the obvious danger of manned row boats amongst themselves. Yet, time and again, they would make the fatal mistake of coming up for air in harpoon range. The only analogy would be walking right into the lions den. Or walking up to pat a polar bear on its head.

And it was only through the efforts of man some whale species didn’t go extinct. Makes absolutely no sense.

Maybe they aren’t so bright; or more likely, they’re intelligence is adapted strictly to their environment. I suspect it’s the latter.

Our intelligence isn’t constrained by any such limitations. We are unique.
Click to expand...

We're destroying our planet - our only habitat. And that's not an "AGW" argument - we're reckless w/ our resources, and destroying habitat every day. Our current practices are not sustainable.

How smart would you say that is?
 
Mott the Hoople said:
No. Learning. I mean y'all can think what ever you want but no matter what example you present of humans uniqueness there is almost always a comparable analogue in the wild kingdom. The only real exception being tool use.
Click to expand...
the learn to adapt to their enviornment -but that is not"culture". They pass on adaptive behaviors by mimic.
If there is not another member of a species to pass it on to -the behavior is lost -until another individual
learns it again. this is not a culture
 
anatta said:
the learn to adapt to their enviornment -but that is not"culture". They pass on adaptive behaviors by mimic.
If there is not another member of a species to pass it on to -the behavior is lost -until another individual
learns it again. this is not a culture
Click to expand...

Please stop saying that bolded. It's true of some animals - not all.
 
WhinyThingy said:
We're destroying our planet - our only habitat. And that's not an "AGW" argument - we're reckless w/ our resources, and destroying habitat every day. Our current practices are not sustainable.

How smart would you say that is?
Click to expand...

We couldn't destroy the planet if we wanted to you lying dimwit. But this is the arrogant stupidity uttered by atheistic leftists who think man is bigger than God.

When man has become extinct, the planet will continue as it has for eons.

giphy.gif
 
anatta said:
the learn to adapt to their enviornment -but that is not"culture". They pass on adaptive behaviors by mimic.
If there is not another member of a species to pass it on to -the behavior is lost -until another individual
learns it again. this is not a culture
Click to expand...
Well that's true of humans too without books...and what are books?
 
Thing1 said:
We're destroying our planet - our only habitat. And that's not an "AGW" argument - we're reckless w/ our resources, and destroying habitat every day. Our current practices are not sustainable.

How smart would you say that is?
Click to expand...

Nice goal post move lol.

‘Destroying’ a planet requires intelligence.

You’re conflating intelligence with wisdom. Why does it matter that man is uniquely intelligent? Wouldn’t it be easier to just accept it?
 
Darth Omar said:
Nice goal post move lol.

‘Destroying’ a planet requires intelligence.

You’re conflating intelligence with wisdom. Why does it matter that man is uniquely intelligent? Wouldn’t it be easier to just accept it?
Click to expand...

We can start again if you want. In what way is man uniquely intelligent? Not tool use, not art, not learning, not nurturing young, not avoiding attack, not socialization, etc.

Are we back to Pizza Hut?
 
Thing1 said:
We can start again if you want. In what way is man uniquely intelligent? Not tool use, not art, not learning, not nurturing young, not avoiding attack, not socialization, etc.

Are we back to Pizza Hut?
Click to expand...

You left out art lol.

Man does more things that I care to list, that animals simply are incapable of, and you refuse to accept that it makes us unique.

I’m back to where we started—I’m astounded. It’s almost like a kind of blindness to reality.
 
Darth Omar said:
You left out art lol.

Man does more things that I care to list, that animals simply are incapable of, and you refuse to accept that it makes us unique.

I’m back to where we started—I’m astounded. It’s almost like a kind of blindness to reality.
Click to expand...

I didn't leave out art. And man doesn't really do anything unique - every function you can think of is done in the animal kingdom, but just on a different scale.
 
Thing1 said:
I didn't leave out art. And man doesn't really do anything unique - every function you can think of is done in the animal kingdom, but just on a different scale.
Click to expand...

I can’t get over the animal art lol.

The whale bit actually brings up a good point. Whale intelligence is a product of natural selection so their intelligence is just sufficient enough for their species to survive. The gazelle runs just fast enough to outrun the lion and etc—-Darwin 101.

And in practice, that’s exactly what we see. Whales are very intelligent creatures—-but only relative to their environment. Darwin predicts just that.

What about human intelligence? Our intelligence exceeds what would be necessary for our species to survive. Humans plodded along for millions of years with no apparent need for theoretical physics or physicists. In fact, we/they propagated most of the planet utilizing only a fraction of our brain power.

But wait a minute. How can that be?

It seems to have appeared without the help of natural selection.
 
Darth Omar said:
I can’t get over the animal art lol.

The whale bit actually brings up a good point. Whale intelligence is a product of natural selection so their intelligence is just sufficient enough for their species to survive. The gazelle runs just fast enough to outrun the lion and etc—-Darwin 101.

And in practice, that’s exactly what we see. Whales are very intelligent creatures—-but only relative to their environment. Darwin predicts just that.

What about human intelligence? Our intelligence exceeds what would be necessary for our species to survive. Humans plodded along for millions of years with no apparent need for theoretical physics or physicists. In fact, we/they propagated most of the planet utilizing only a fraction of our brain power.

But wait a minute. How can that be?

It seems to have appeared without the help of natural selection.
Click to expand...

Again - music is art.

Cetaceans also have a level of socialization & intelligence that exceeds what they need to survive. Honestly, it sounds like you only know the basics about how they live (which is understandable - I don't mean that in a derogatory way). But their behaviors go WELL beyond the "mimicking" that anatta was talking about, or just basic survival. They're really pretty close to on par w/ humans, just in a different environment.

And you really overlook the vast importance of the opposable thumb in the development of our civilization. Cetaceans don't have that, so of course are lacking in things like architecture and advanced tool use.
 
You guys might find this interesting.

"The parallel existence of an intelligent species closely related to us has long fascinated scientists and the public alike. The most debated issue is why Neandertals ultimately disappeared. Potential explanations include violent conflict with Homo sapiens, disease, difficulty adapting to rapid environmental and climate change, interbreeding with modern humans and differences between the two species in technical, social and cognitive abilities.

"Now new research from a group led by paleoanthropologist Takeru Akazawa of Kochi University of Technology in Japan has shed light on the question using computational techniques to reconstruct the Neandertal brain and estimate differences in the size of specific regions between species. The results add weight to the idea that cognitive differences contributed to the Neandertals being out-competed and ultimately replaced by our ancestors."

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...uter-models-hint-at-why-we-bested-neandertals
 
Thing1 said:
Again - music is art.

Cetaceans also have a level of socialization & intelligence that exceeds what they need to survive. Honestly, it sounds like you only know the basics about how they live (which is understandable - I don't mean that in a derogatory way). But their behaviors go WELL beyond the "mimicking" that anatta was talking about, or just basic survival. They're really pretty close to on par w/ humans, just in a different environment.

And you really overlook the vast importance of the opposable thumb in the development of our civilization. Cetaceans don't have that, so of course are lacking in things like architecture and advanced tool use.
Click to expand...

I heard all about it on American Whale Stand......gottagood beat and its easy to swim to.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top