What do you think the most powerful human trait is?
Many argue love.
I say curiosity.

What do you say?

Will to survive at all costs. For some this is superceded by altruism.

Stupidity.

sometimes, pride.

some doctors die of choking cause they are too embarassed
to ask another doctor to give them the heimlich manouever.

I'm going to have to agree with Xev on this one. Stupidity is a strong trait in humans.

It varies from person to person. For some people, i think it could be stupidity. Stupidity and ignorance has started wars, and killed thousands of people. Curiousity, however, has made our civilization evolve. It has built cities, explored the seas, and looked deep into space. However, these cannot match up to (you guessed it!) love. Love is universal. There is a reference in virtually every country song about love, or something related closely to it. Love for a country has created turning points in a war, where when everything looked bleak, then glimmered witha ray of hope. Most people would probably say that the most iimportant moment in their life was their marriage day if they had one. They wouldnt say it was the day they got embarrassed in front of the whole school after they did something stupid, they wouldnt say that it was whenn they wondered how the cosmos were really created, they would most likely say something that refers to love. You gained, it, you lost it, you keep it... hehe this is just me being me lol.
Stupidity DOES come a very close second however hehe.:D

Most important human trait? Inconsistency.

Quote man_of_jade:

Stupidity and ignorance has started wars, and killed thousands of people. Curiousity, however, has made our civilization evolve.
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Warfare also has lead to the evolution of civilization believe it or not. Most of the stuff we have today were the result of an idea thought up by the military such as the internet itself along with Radios are acouple examples i can think of right of the top of my head.

I would have to agree with Clockwood on the strongest trait. The will to survive (for the non-sucidal type) overcomes almost every emtion in times of danger.

What do you mean by powerful?
Do you mean which instinct (which is a better choice of word than "trait") is the most likely to overpower the others? The urge to procreate. The urge to fuck, basically.

Perhaps you mean which human trait creates the most (be it metaphysical, another human life or anything)? And that would be why you answered curiosity? Hmmmm. I'd say necessity to better. I'd say it is the human desire to constantly make our lives easier, simpler, faster and more brain-dead.

I would say lust is the powerful trait. The lust for power, sex, money, knowledge...

I'm suprised fear never came up. Or hate... We'll see what comes up...

sense of humor =)
Weird... I'm having a conversation with some friends right at this moment, and I asked them that question and one said humor. I thought that was a good one and turned around to post it but you beat me to it!

Hate.. anger, Greed..take your pick!

Love is merciful, Stupidity limits also.. the above three are calculatingly cunning and unpredictably dangerous.

This really depends on what exactly you mean by 'power'. If you simply mean the greatest resulting effect of the trait, then Tyler is absolutely right - it's our will to survive and procreate - mostly the later.

If you're thinking in terms of the most emotionally 'overpowering' trait - it differs from person to person, so you can't really make an accurate generalization. The will to survive is perhaps the best guess - but I've known people that don't generally value there lives all that much. Personally, it would definitely be my will to survive - I think that my will to life is far above average at least, and that I would live to be a hundred on your typical deserted island situation - alone.

I wouldn't say 'hate' or 'anger' or 'love' because they are all reactionary emotional responses, in many cases not applicable. Nor would I call 'stupidity' a trait - it's relative of course. I wouldn't say that the most 'powerful' quality of chimps, afterall, is stupidity. Saying something like that, is, ofcourse sentiment.

So to make an all around generalization, I'll go with Tyler: the will to survive/procreate. Not many people would react against the norm in some situations. An average guy stranded on an island with a supermodel... ? Add in that she really dislikes you, makes for an interesting scenario.

I'm rambling.

-Distortion

Our imagination.

It means we can see beyond the "here and now" (which gets us a little free of survival mode), see possibilities, form goals and dreams - and have motives - design things, create things, have hopes, ideals...

without a doubt it the ability to see weakness in others, that's one way of describing the trait, i cannot really describe it, but it's the most powerful and important trait one could hope to have learned/inherited(?).

The ability to see the weak is definately not a purely human trait, all mamals do it. The weakest animals in a herd are waay down in status.

Physical and emotional/mental weakness are pretty much the same thing in humans. Either way the weak usualy get stepped over used and left out in society.

Selfawareness seems to be quite a powerfull trait.

You must be first be aware that you have traits to be able to name them.:D

And there you have it, I'm convinced. Self-awareness. The one and only thing that seperates us from the animals.

I would say - adaptability.

unfortunately now, i would say jealousy/envy

i wish those didn't exist, but i guess the competition
hatred fuels progress....?

Most powerful? its probably been said before, but I would go with intelligence. it shapes all the other traits into something that can affect the world in a way that other animals can't

ok, trait.... Communication.. ability to, through art, words, signals, and signs.. even the cavemen had it. communication foments planning, planning foments groupies or cults, society.. armys .. etc.

I'd have to say either sense of humor (because i've never seen any other creature laugh), or that evil, macho, testosterone driven urge to kill things. I hate that.

lemme just reiterate, what i meant was the SENSELESS killing of others. I know that other animals kill, but they do it to survive.

yeah, they don't have sex for pleasure either!! trait?.... i'd have to say stupidity with dangerous things.

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"look, i have a pencil and i am a-running!!":D :m: :D

I guess it depends on where you draw the line, I think a cat can be concious of a mouse that it sees, a chimp can be concious that it sees a reflection on the mirror.
But a human can be conscious of the fact that he is conscious of the world.
Ofcourse it can't be prove if animals show this trait. Probably they can't comprehend that they exist, they just exist. Many people probably are this way to some degree aswell.