humans have the largest brain of all animals – bollocks. the sperm whale has a brain weighing 20 pounds. a human brain weighs about 3.
humans employ intelligent use of tools – it is bullshit. chimpanzees lick the end of a stick and put it in an anthill to catch ants. oh, hell, we don’t have to go to such “advanced” species. just look at the spider’s web.
humans are social animals – human society is absolutely embarrassing compared to many insect societies. look at ants. or bees. who is more social? humans or bees?
humans are the only creatures who communicate using language – it is well known that dolphins have quite a complicated language. actually, ants use thousands of chemicals to convey information.
humans are the most intelligent of all creatures – there is no evidence to show that humans have cognitive skills that are unique to us. dolphins, for example, are known to be extremely intelligent. there is no acceptable universal test for human intelligence yet.
p.s. this was a leading argument for a long time in many fields. of course it is bullshit. chimpanzees lick the end of a stick and put it in an anthill to catch ants. oh, hell, we don’t have to go to such “advanced” (and i use the term cynically here) species. just look at the spider’s web.
humans are the only creatures who communicate using language
well, maybe humans are the only creatures who communicate using german, but by today it is well known that dolphins have quite a complicated language. actually, ants use thousands of chemicals to convey information. that is just as much a language as human vocal (or written or whatever) language.
humans are the most intelligent of all creatures
here we’re getting into a rather dodgy area. one i usually don’t like to go into. what is intelligence? how do you measure it? in any case, there is no evidence to show that humans have cognitive skills that are unique to us. dolphins, for example, are known to be extremely intelligent, and there’s no way to compare human and dolphin intelligence. there is no acceptable universal test for human intelligence yet (people who grew up in an isolated african tribe will hardly be able to perform simple arithmetic, but does that mean they are less intelligent?), so how can we tell the difference between two species?
and the last (and my favourite) “proof”:
humans can cut an onion, but an onion can hardly cut us
what the people who use this argument are trying to say is that we are killing off many species, which makes us superior. a man can kill a lion more easily than a lion can kill a man (using a stinger missile, for example). Well, i guess that simply means that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is more advanced than humans. we have no idea how to kill it, and yet it kills us quite easily. (there are tons of other viruses and bacteria who are more advanced than us using this reasoning, HIV is just one example).
Is Homo sapiens the most advanced species?
by Footprints
http://everything2.com/title/Is+Homo+sapiens+the+most+advanced+species%253F
bollocks. the sperm whale has a brain weighing 20 pounds. a human brain weighs about 3.
p.s. this was a leading argument for a long time in many fields. of course it is bullshit. chimpanzees lick the end of a stick and put it in an anthill to catch ants. oh, hell, we don’t have to go to such “advanced” (and i use the term cynically here) species. just look at the spider’s web.
human society is absolutely embarrassing compared to many insect societies. look at ants. or bees. who is more social? humans or bees?
octopuses show emotions.
well, maybe humans are the only creatures who communicate using german, but by today it is well known that dolphins have quite a complicated language. actually, ants use thousands of chemicals to convey information. that is just as much a language as human vocal (or written or whatever) language.
here we’re getting into a rather dodgy area. one i usually don’t like to go into. what is intelligence? how do you measure it? in any case, there is no evidence to show that humans have cognitive skills that are unique to us. dolphins, for example, are known to be extremely intelligent, and there’s no way to compare human and dolphin intelligence. there is no acceptable universal test for human intelligence yet (people who grew up in an isolated african tribe will hardly be able to perform simple arithmetic, but does that mean they are less intelligent?), so how can we tell the difference between two species?
and the last (and my favourite) “proof”:
what the people who use this argument are trying to say is that we are killing off many species, which makes us superior. a man can kill a lion more easily than a lion can kill a man (using a stinger missile, for example). Well, i guess that simply means that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is more advanced than humans. we have no idea how to kill it, and yet it kills us quite easily. (there are tons of other viruses and bacteria who are more advanced than us using this reasoning, HIV is just one example).