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Intelligence
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Dolphins have a brain capacity nearly the size of humans (comparing brain size to body ratio). Courtesy Corbis |
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Pinpointing an exact definition for intelligence? is a difficult task. Are insects intelligent? Horses? Dolphins? All these species do possess some degree of intelligence in that they are able communicate among themselves. Insects such as bees show a high level of organization within the hierarchal social structure of their hive. Horses are intelligent enough to be trained for a variety of purposes and dolphin brains are second only to humans according the percentage of their brain weight to their body weight. But are they intelligent?
"We have become, by the power of a glorious evolutionary accident called intelligence, the stewards of life's continuity on Earth. We may not be suited to it, but here we are."
- Stephen Jay Gould
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Naturally, we tend to use human intelligence as a standard measurement for intelligence in general. Humans are capable of acquiring and applying knowledge and we have the faculties of thought, reason and comprehension. Humans are also self-aware, a characteristic that distinguishes us from our animal cousins. Finally, humans have both fore and hindsight; the ability to imagine the future and to reflect upon the past. Using these traits as a basis for measuring intelligence, it is obvious where most animals fall short.
How and why did intelligence evolve? Why did intelligence evolve to such a high degree in humans, and not other animals? Will the nature of extra-terrestrial intelligence be similar to human intelligence? These are all fascinating questions that do not have definitive answers at this point in time. However, there has been a lot of speculation.
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“While it took intelligence millions of years to evolve here on Earth, it only evolved once out of a billion species of earthly animals.”
- Ernst Mayr
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Intelligence evolved because it was favored by natural selection, the mechanism behind evolution. Mutations that increased the size and functionality of the brain had enormous adaptive and survival value and were selected for. Thus, the organisms with the greatest intellect were most likely to survive and pass on their genes to their offspring. Over time, the average intelligence of the entire population of organisms would increase.
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Here is a view of a living human brain as seen with MRI (magnetic [nuclear] resonance imaging). Courtesy Hiroharu Noda |
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Now, this all makes good sense until you question why intelligence evolved superlatively in humans but not other animals. Could being smarter have been much more advantageous to humans than to other animals? Actually, the answer to that is yes. Because the hominid ancestors of humans were relatively defenceless and weak compared to other primordial beasts, the ability to think was the only advantage these hominids had. They initially used their intellectual ability to invent and manipulate tools for defense and protection against predators and eventually developed language, culture, and civilization.
The question of whether the nature of extra-terrestrial intelligence will be similar to human intelligence is more difficult to answer. Supposing that life can arise on other worlds in the universe, what are the chances of intelligent life arising?
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Why did intelligence evolve to such a high degree in humans, but not other animals?
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There are two strongly opposing viewpoints with regards to this question. People such as Harvard biologist George Clayford believe that the chances are nil that any “comparably intelligent organism would be likely to arise on other worlds.” (Clayford). He says that "the random and highly idiosyncratic course of evolution on earth makes it wholly improbable that the evolution of intelligence could be repeated here, much less on other plantets where conditions would be entirely different”. A scientist named Ernst Mayr once noted that “while it took intelligence millions of years to evolve here on earth, it only evolved once out of a billion species of earthly animals.” Then there are those who argue that because life is likely a fairly common phenomenon in other solar systems (in the presence of the proper conditions for life), intelligent life is also likely to be common.
The fact remains that we really don’t know whether intelligence is a universal or terrestrial phenomenon, and the only way we will ever find out is by searching for it. The science fiction show ‘The X-Files” got it right when they said "the truth is out there”.
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