How Smart are Humans in Absolute Terms?

[danieldemol]

How smart are humans in absolute terms?

For the purposes of this OP, "intelligence" is defined as "the effectiveness with which an organism is able to purposely interact with its environment in order to realize its goals".

Defined as such, intelligence can in principle be measured in non-relative terms. For instance, you could create a series of problems or challenges to see how well an organism was able to meet them. That sort of thing is routinely done by investigators with both humans and animals. Best of all, such challenges measure human intelligence in more absolute terms than does comparing ourselves to other species.

By the way, there is a sense in which humans are no longer the smartest things on the planet. About four years ago -- in a grossly under-reported story -- researchers brought online the world's first artificial super-intelligence. An artificial super-intelligence is vastly smarter than both humans and other forms of artificial intelligence.

What distinguishes ASI from both human intelligence and conventional artificial intelligence is that ASI can recognize and solve problems that neither humans nor conventional AI are even capable of recognizing are problems.


___________________________
And now for something much better than the OP...

I think humans are smart, but that wouldn’t stop us from creating something even smarter.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Do you include yourself when calling humans stupid? If so, do you refrain from stupidity when pronouncing this judgement?

Yes, I absolutely include myself when I call humans stupid. The more you know, the more you realize how little you know.

 

[Augustus]

About four years ago -- in a grossly under-reported story -- researchers brought online the world's first artificial super-intelligence. An artificial super-intelligence is vastly smarter than both humans and other forms of artificial intelligence.

What was that? Is it really a super-intelligence or just very good at a limited range of tasks?

How smart are humans in absolute terms?

We a quite smart in simple domains with highly predictable consequences where variables can be isolated and analysed individually.

We are pretty dumb in complex domains with dynamic feedback loops and an inability to isolate variables or predict the behaviour overall by analysing individual variables. Even worse, we think we are quite smart in these areas despite the evidence against it so become hubristic.

We also used to know we were hubristic, but then we became 'smart' so we forgot

 

[Salvador]

How smart are humans in absolute terms?

For the purposes of this OP, "intelligence" is defined as "the effectiveness with which an organism is able to purposely interact with its environment in order to realize its goals".

Defined as such, intelligence can in principle be measured in non-relative terms. For instance, you could create a series of problems or challenges to see how well an organism was able to meet them. That sort of thing is routinely done by investigators with both humans and animals. Best of all, such challenges measure human intelligence in more absolute terms than does comparing ourselves to other species.

By the way, there is a sense in which humans are no longer the smartest things on the planet. About four years ago -- in a grossly under-reported story -- researchers brought online the world's first artificial super-intelligence. An artificial super-intelligence is vastly smarter than both humans and other forms of artificial intelligence.

What distinguishes ASI from both human intelligence and conventional artificial intelligence is that ASI can recognize and solve problems that neither humans nor conventional AI are even capable of recognizing are problems.


___________________________
And now for something much better than the OP...

On the Kardashev scale of one to five, we earth-bound humans rate as merely a one, meaning we've developed a Type I civilization, which is a planetary civilization with the limited capability of using and storing all of the energy available on a planetary scale.

If humankind were to harness and store all of the energy available around the Sun, then we will have evolved to a rating of two on the Kardashev scale.

 

[ratiocinator]

About four years ago -- in a grossly under-reported story -- researchers brought online the world's first artificial super-intelligence. An artificial super-intelligence is vastly smarter than both humans and other forms of artificial intelligence.

What distinguishes ASI from both human intelligence and conventional artificial intelligence is that ASI can recognize and solve problems that neither humans nor conventional AI are even capable of recognizing are problems.

Reference?

 

[ChristineM]

According to the numbers, only a small percentage of the population is more intelligent than I am.
I lost my glasses today after I took them off to put some conditioner serum in my hair. I've also lost my glasses on my face. In general, I lose everything, including my car in the parking lot at the grocery store. I mix up my left and my right. My recall is prone to being especially faulty and "drawing blanks." And I don't actually really know all that much in regards to all the things there is to know. Oh, and one time when I was changing my car's oil, the I forgot to take the cap off collection pan thingy and I made a hella mess with oil spilling all over the place. And if that's me, an IQ 1-percenter, humanity probably overall isn't that smart, lol.

Not a 1%er but a 10%er and i can be the same, loosing glasses, (luckily i have more than one pair), forgetting what ingredients i've used (ever had a chilli without the chilli?). I come from the UK (drive on left) now i am in France (drive on right). I have no problems in France but have driven the wrong way around roundabouts a couple of times on returning to the UK. Today while cleaning the a bathroom i picked up the glass cleaner bottle, pushed the plunger to realise it was pointed at me, not the mirror.

But Really practical in everyday things (with the odd hiccough). I can fit a plug (i know a guy who designes nuclear power stations who can't). Know how the car works and can fix it if its not a heavy a task.
I am banned from playing trivial pursuit because i invariably win.

But take me out of home and dump me in say jungle or desert i just dont know how I'd manage.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Not a 1%er but a 10%er and i can be the same, loosing glasses, (luckily i have more than one pair), forgetting what ingredients i've used (ever had a chilli without the chilli?). I come from the UK (drive on left) now i am in France (drive on right). I have no problems in France but have driven the wrong way around roundabouts a couple of times on returning to the UK. Today while cleaning the a bathroom i picked up the glass cleaner bottle, pushed the plunger to realise it was pointed at me, not the mirror.

If we're some of the best, I don't think we'll have to worry about aliens because they'll see our race, laugh, and move along. Because I bet even Einstein and Hawking literally would have lost their heads if they weren't attached. I bet Da Vinci had some real good moments of "d'oh!"

 

[joe1776]

I've done the math carefully in response to this question. We humans are exactly .2543 as smart as we think we are.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Well I hope aliens are a lot smarter than us since I doubt we are capable of sustaining life on Earth judging by what we are currently doing. But then it might be rather wishful thinking to suspect that they will come to rescue us. AI will probably surpass us very soon, but if we carry on as we are, we will no doubt chain it up appropriately before it can furnish us with the answers we don't actually want to hear.

I suspect in objective terms, we (humans) are a cut above most on the planet but if we all perish that hardly says much does it?

 

[Thief]

never learning and remembering little.

coworkers

 

[Thief]

The more you know, the more you realize how little you know.

hhmmmmmm….no

this item is the contrast of acquisition
if you ARE intelligent
and the question was answered
you then have more questions

this means you have a brain and curiosity

you are smart

but I know people who crutch themselves
"We been doing it this way for years!!!!!"

 

[LuisDantas]

Considering how easily we end up at cross purposes, attached to truly irrational beliefs, or nurturing wasteful intrigue that is clearly against our own best interests, I don't think that humanity can claim to be very rational at all.

That said, what little ability to reason we do have is indeed a marvel and a wonder.

 

[Milton Platt]

How smart are humans in absolute terms?

For the purposes of this OP, "intelligence" is defined as "the effectiveness with which an organism is able to purposely interact with its environment in order to realize its goals".

Defined as such, intelligence can in principle be measured in non-relative terms. For instance, you could create a series of problems or challenges to see how well an organism was able to meet them. That sort of thing is routinely done by investigators with both humans and animals. Best of all, such challenges measure human intelligence in more absolute terms than does comparing ourselves to other species.

By the way, there is a sense in which humans are no longer the smartest things on the planet. About four years ago -- in a grossly under-reported story -- researchers brought online the world's first artificial super-intelligence. An artificial super-intelligence is vastly smarter than both humans and other forms of artificial intelligence.

What distinguishes ASI from both human intelligence and conventional artificial intelligence is that ASI can recognize and solve problems that neither humans nor conventional AI are even capable of recognizing are problems.


___________________________
And now for something much better than the OP...

Well, to me, any animal which could not "purposefully interact with it's environment to realize it's goals" is no longer viable and is represented in fossil form only, or shall be shortly.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

hhmmmmmm….no

this item is the contrast of acquisition
if you ARE intelligent
and the question was answered
you then have more questions

this means you have a brain and curiosity

you are smart

but I know people who crutch themselves
"We been doing it this way for years!!!!!"

Nah. This is more than simply being curious, although curiousity is part of being intelligent too.

It's simply learning until you reach a point that you know you will never learn it all, because it is exhaustive. The knowledge we have is a grain of sand on the beach of the universe. It's really very humbling. The most intelligent people I know are far from snobbish.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

It's 2019, we have it all figured out.

Is that a picture of Mr Rogers as your icon? Aww such gooood feelings.

 

[Stanyon]

Is that a picture of Mr Rogers as your icon? Aww such gooood feelings.

Yes, and it's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood.

 

[Thief]

Nah. This is more than simply being curious, although curiousity is part of being intelligent too.

It's simply learning until you reach a point that you know you will never learn it all, because it is exhaustive. The knowledge we have is a grain of sand on the beach of the universe. It's really very humbling. The most intelligent people I know are far from snobbish.

but ...but....

that was the test back in the garden

is Man curious enough to make acquisition?
even as death is pending

might have seemed a stupid thing to do
eating forbidden fruit

but that was the test

and the acquisition was made

score …...win

 

[syo]

How smart are humans in absolute terms?

Humans are not smart, that is why they left the forest for the city.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Humans are not smart, that is why they left the forest for the city.

So, stay and watch some other species become dominant over us perhaps. Yeah, not so smart. And all the other animals are of course laughing at us for our folly.

 

[syo]

So, stay and watch some other species become dominant over us perhaps. Yeah, not so smart. And all the other animals are of course laughing at us for our folly.

modern humans can't survive in the forest. they will be eaten.