| VXIII said: I appreciate your willpower, so I'm going to reply one more time to clear things up XD I think it is important to notify that I specifically said to him to "observe the wild life" of the animals. Because that is where it evolve fundamentally different than our way of life. That where the difference shows. I'm fully aware that with human interference animals can simulate some aspects of our behavior when trained or put under strict and repeated situations. It is the memory and the ability to recall that get in the mix here. But that is really not even the main argument. This whole argument started by stating how the human brain is special and more complex than other animals, and I wanted to know how... even though humans don't have the biggest brains, not the biggest brian to body ratio. And not even the most neurons which transmitting the impulses. Human brain isn't that special indeed. But what we can achieve with it surely is. |
Also in the wild animals play, mourn the loss of their dead, and many more things. It's easier to observe them in controlled conditions ofcourse. Plus there are likely lots of nuances we miss completely.
Now why are we top dog when it comes to using our brains. Likely because we forced out our direct competition, like the Neanderthals. Plus having two limbs free to manipulate things, experiment with things etc will have had a big impact on the development of the brain and vice versa. Indeed we can teach animals new tricks. They can't learn them by themselves as they simply don't have the anatomy to get to tool using. Birds still surprise me with their clever use of sticks, yet there's only so much you can do with a beak.
Perhaps that's a prerequisite for intelligence to arise. The aility to experiment with your environment in an effective way. Some self reinforcing loop might start where the hands train the brain and the brain uses the hands to form understanding. Repeatable experiments are the start of knowledge. If you can only observe the world it might take a lot longer and never get to the same level. Learn through play isn't it.
