Humans are the most complex thing
- Thread starter Bowser
- Start date
As far as we know?
Agree
However if you are allowed to compare something which exist (a human being) against a concept (god) god would win hands down
But agree, comparing real against real humans are extremely complex BUT more complex than a giraffe?
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The recurrent (inferior) laryngeal nerve, which branches off the Vagus nerve at the base of the brain, travels down the neck, around the arteries of the heart and travels back up the neck to ennervate the larynx, or voice box, thereby providing motor function
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/06/22/the-laryngeal-nerve-of-the-gir/
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a woodpecker?
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Have you ever seen a flicker or woodpecker pounding away at bark, or annoyingly on a tin roof, and wondered how in the world they can do that without bashing in their brains? After all, the force of that is measured at over 1,000x the force of gravity! The answer is pretty complex, but you can break it down into some simple parts
http://infinitespider.com/woodpecker-doesnt-bash-brain/
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Or does the human complexity come from, what I would contend, the unpredictability of humans?
How do you define complexity?
all that we are--physically and mentally. Perhaps we could limit it to simply physical. The statement above is generic..
I don't think we're physically more complex than other animals. Are we even as complex as a mountain, with its variety of crystal structures? (At least, I was always under the impression that inorganic chemistry was more complex than organic.)
Arguably our psychology and social structures are pretty complex.
How might the structure of the brain compare to other universal phenomena? It seems to be rather complex in its structure and function, even at a most basic level.
spidergoat
Valued Senior Member
Disagree, they cannot be more complex than the universe itself.
Certainly the most complex things we know of in the universe.
And being "in" the universe means they contribute to the overall complexity of the universe. They are not more complex than the universe.
Semantics.
No, fact. I agree that we are the most complex thing we currently know of in the universe. Simple. Confused?
Disagree. We're pretty complex - but there are animals which are just as complex as us, and there are almost surely other beings more complex out there.
Write4U
Valued Senior Member
I read that also.
But rather than call it complexity, I would call it an evolutionary anomali, which makes the Giraffe more complex than humans in that respect, but I would not call that an advantage.
The long neck is an advantage, for obvious reasons.
As to woodpeckers, ever watched two (300 lb) male Big Horn sheep getting it on. Just watching those collisions gives me a headache.
Evolution tends to winnow unneccessary parts of a structure or organism, allowing for greater efficiency, but at the same time extending those features which do allow for greater efficiency, usually in very specific abilities.
Humans still have remnants of parts which at one time were advantageous, but are no longer necessary. In time, those will disappear, I'm sure.
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As Bateson may have been the first to point out, if the definition of "thing" is inclusive enough, a coral reef would probably be more complex than a human being.
That includes logical level or "mental" (in humans) complexity, the logical levels of behavioral organization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steps_to_an_Ecology_of_Mind
That includes logical level or "mental" (in humans) complexity, the logical levels of behavioral organization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steps_to_an_Ecology_of_Mind
I agree. We came into being from a complex Universe and increased its complexity.
If you wish to remove humans from the Universe to then stand them alongside the Universe for complexity comparison you should have a separate outside of Universe origin for the human
Well that makes about as much sense as potatoes.I agree. We came into being from a complex Universe and increased its complexity.
If you wish to remove humans from the Universe to then stand them alongside the Universe for complexity comparison you should have a separate outside of Universe origin for the human
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
It goes without saying that we can only draw conclusions about things we know, so to say 'there might be things we don't know' is superfluous.
There are lots of things to compare. Oranges, pebbles, flatworms. All of them are less complex than a human.
To think that we can only compare ourselves to ... things that are comparable to us ... is defeating the question.
I was checking whether anyone knew of something that might be more complex. I hadn't made any conclusions.
Write4U
Valued Senior Member
I read somewhere that at least in mathematics, Chaos is the most complex state. Whereas mathematical ordering into an apparent complex pattern actually presents a simplification, along with efficiency.