Humans not smarter than animals In down and under , or all over in the world

Oops, I may have killed the thread...

<sigh> the highs and the lows of having the last word :scratchin:
 
to OP:

arauca said:
"For millennia, all kinds of authorities – from religion to eminent scholars – have been repeating the same idea ad nauseam, that humans are exceptional by virtue that they are the smartest in the animal kingdom," says Dr Arthur Saniotis, Visiting Research Fellow with the University's School of Medical Sciences.

"However, science tells us that animals can have cognitive faculties that are superior to human beings."

He says the belief that humans have superior intelligence harks back to the Agricultural Revolution some 10,000 years ago when people began producing cereals and domesticating animals. This gained momentum with the development of organised religion, which viewed human beings as the top species in creation.

"The fact that they may not understand us, while we do not understand them, does not mean our 'intelligences' are at different levels, they are just of different kinds. When a foreigner tries to communicate with us using an imperfect, broken, version of our language, our impression is that they are not very intelligent. But the reality is quite different," Professor Henneberg says.

"Animals offer different kinds of intelligences which have been under-rated due to humans' fixation on language and technology. These include social and kinaesthetic intelligence. Some mammals, like gibbons, can produce a large number of varied sounds – over 20 different sounds with clearly different meanings that allow these arboreal primates to communicate across tropical forest canopy. The fact that they do not build houses is irrelevant to the gibbons.



Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-12-humans-smarter-animals-experts.html#jCp
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I can't believe no one picked at this:

Websters:

Smart:

: very good at learning or thinking about things

: showing intelligence or good judgment

: behaving or talking in a rude or impolite way : showing a lack of respect for someone



Intelligence:

: the ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situations


So, first, there needs to be a distinction as to what we are discussing. The OP both states 'smart' and 'intelligent.'

However, humans win in any case.
 
origin said:
Hmm, dolphins also are notoriously horny creatures.
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In both cases (dolphins and chimpanzees), sexual activity is used for reinforcement of pack bonds. Like humans, the females of these species are physically capable of copulation when not in estrus (not "in heat," i.e., not capable of becoming pregnant). This is highly unusual among mammals, in fact I can't identify another species that has it, although I've read that there are others. (To be clear, there are two species of chimpanzees, both of which practice "sex as social bonding," and almost 40 species of dolphins--and I have no idea whether all of them have this combination of psychology and physiology.)

In humans, out-of-estrus copulation serves a different purpose. Our young take much longer to mature than the young of other mammals. Baby whales become adults in two years, baby elephants in five. Our babies require intense care, training and supervision for a decade and a half. If only their mothers were responsible for this, they'd be exhausted and probably wouldn't have time to provide enough food for the family.

The ability of human females to copulate at any time, even when pregnant and nursing, is an encouragement to the children's father to stay close to the hearth and participate in the challenging job of raising them.

In addition we have another nearly unique characteristic: humans remain healthy, alive, and capable of contributing to the support of the community, for many years after our children are raised and on their own--even after our women become physically incapable of having more progeny. This provides our species with the resource of grandparents, a second generation of elders, unencumbered by children of their own, who can pitch in and give parents a break, contributing to the raising of their own grandchildren, and the children of the entire community.
 
arauca said:
"For millennia, all kinds of authorities – from religion to eminent scholars – have been repeating the same idea ad nauseam, that humans are exceptional by virtue that they are the smartest in the animal kingdom," says Dr Arthur Saniotis, Visiting Research Fellow with the University's School of Medical Sciences.
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That man doesn't sound like he has a good grasp of what one means when it is said that humans are smarter than animals.
 
Fraggle Rocker said:
... we have another nearly unique characteristic: humans remain healthy, alive, and capable of contributing to the support of the community, for many years after our children are raised and on their own--even after our women become physically incapable of having more progeny. This provides our species with the resource of grandparents, a second generation of elders, unencumbered by children of their own, who can pitch in and give parents a break, contributing to the raising of their own grandchildren, and the children of the entire community.
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Elephants, dolphins, and some primates do this too. Those are just what comes to mind, I'd be surprised if there weren't quite a few more.
 
dlorde said:
Elephants, dolphins, and some primates do this too. Those are just what comes to mind, I'd be surprised if there weren't quite a few more.
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Well, I did say, "nearly unique." Elephants, dolphins and some primates (including our species) are also, arguably, the most intelligent mammals.
 
Mazulu said:
Don't forget mice, pan-dimensional mice.
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Yes, many species of rodent are highly intelligent.

Mice and rats are scavengers, and intelligence is an asset for a scavenger, especially those who live around human habitation and need to know how to sneak into houses, open containers, etc.

Many bears (ursids) and raccoons (procyonids) also choose the easy life of eating our leftovers--or in some cases our groceries. They're both pretty good at breaking into houses: the bears by knocking down a door or breaking a window, the raccoons by finding sneaky little entry holes or even chimneys.

Raccoons are rapidly becoming more common in the cities than out in the country.
 
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