What is it that sets us, humans, apart from others in the animal kingdom? It’s fair to say, isn’t it, that chimps, gorillas, or orang-utans, and dolphins, are those that we on the street would have no problem accepting as smart... very smart, but maybe... in their own way.
In a continual quest for intellect, the reasoning and understanding of intelligence, we often look to the animal kingdom for inspiration, and find it.
In dolphins, for example we have found an array of qualities that are remarkable in their diversity. Their behaviour being so much of what we would aspire to. They communicate clearly with each other, which has been proven, but their language has so many mysteries still, it has been beyond science to unlock so far.
However it is their sophisticated sonar systems which have been the focus of the majority of dolphin research across the last hundred years. Their unique echolocation system is believed to read shape and size in addition to distance and direction, which is mind boggling. They have a supportive social environment, which appears compassionate and caring, which extends to common nurturing and caring principles for their young and old respectively. Even more emphatically, they show joy in all they do, whether it’s cavorting in the sea, leaping acrobatically, or interacting with human swimmers and divers, they display a curiosity and exuberance rarely matched by other species.
Apparently, chimps, gorillas, and orang-utans have the nearest intellectual perspective to humans.
I mean, how could you watch ‘Gorillas in the Mist (Michael Apted, 1988),’ and not be convinced of their innate humanity? We share 98 per cent of the DNA of orang-utans, who have strong social bonds, cognitive skills, and even identifiable cultures.
They have audible and sign languages, can both learn and teach, have strong hierarchies, societal frameworks, and most importantly, the ability to sequence and complete complex processes.
Elephants have a brain that is, by comparison with ours, huge, three times the size, and have intense olfactory systems that are the basis of their fight or flight decisions.
Cats and dogs are without peer as household pets, or companions, but you would never guess that pigs are equally trainable, would you? Truly! And who would have believed that the incredible octopus is not only unique, but brainy, capable of problem-solving, navigation, recognition, and discretion.
And rats... I detest rats... yet, they too demonstrate extensive intelligence, hence their having been used in laboratories for scientific experiments for centuries
There is no end to this type of discussion, and it’s no debate to be won or lost. There is however, an ongoing awareness that we need to maintain, perhaps out of respect for those particular gifts and abilities that demonstrate such humanity, that we are not the be all and end all of the intelligence conversation.
Our human intelligence only has its unique ‘superiority,’ its ability to continuously, almost predictably, influence the future. We have, interestingly, made our greatest technological and developmental advances when we have been put under immense pressure, prompting the thoughts that research is as response driven as sports. Which may be another talking point for another day.
Keep in mind that we are not the alpha in the intelligence playground any more, as the spectre of artificial intelligence looms large. Those men in white coats tell us that we will soon be replaced as ‘top-dogs,’ from our intellectual perch, by the androids of our own making, leading to an artificial reshaping of our fundamental existence.
Not that I’ll be here to see it, but it’s something to look forward to... or not!
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