Why Is High Intelligence So Rare?

[Sunstone]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

 

[Ozzie]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

Rats have high intelligence for specific tasks. Cockroaches and crocodiles have high intelligence if survival ability is the relevant criterion. What is high intelligence? If we use human reasoning as the yardstick, we could also be criticized for blatant stupidity and criminality eg genocide.

 

[robtex]

I am going to go with genetics. I remember looking at IQ charts when I was in college (taking a course) and seeing that 90 % plus of people fell in a pretty narrow range on the tests. I don't think IQ is as big of a survival tool for humans as will to live , mental constitution, overall physical health, or envirorment factors such as being born in a place of much warefare vs a place where there is no war going on.

 

[RevOxley_501]

i kept all the high intelligence to myself---i guess im greedy


thats why its so darn rare

 

[evearael]

I am not convinced it is as rare as people currently believe. Consider that whales were only recently added to the list.

 

[michel]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

Perhaps because high intelligence leads to the yearning for discoveries; man has nearly succeeded in destroying our world a few times!

 

[robtex]

I remember Noam Chomsky commenting in one of his political books that while reading evolutionary biologists Ernst Mayr works that Dr Mayr pointed out that in the scope of evoution and survival that higher intelligence did not equate to successful propogation of the species. Chomsky went on to talk about the ecological battle of the use of renewable and non-renewable energy sources and how life forms that are able to adapt to the envirorment as is, may have a higher successs rate than those who need to make changes.

He didn't go into alot of detail, it was more of a sidenote, but the contigency of adaptation stuck out to me. Say you are a beaver who needs to build a dam to get food but a flood comes in more often than usual and because of errosion keeping dams built is difficult business. Or you are an otter who uses rocks to open oysters but the area you inhabit has very few rocks to open oysters with.

A number of biologists cite the extreme success of bacteria to survive and they have no intelligence at all. They just run on auto-go. Mabye intelligence is over-rated and adaptablity is more the key. That was Darwin's origninal propostion if I read it correctly. Maybe intelligence only has as much utlity as it helps one to adapt to the envirorment, instead of altering the envirorment to fits ones needs?

 

[Faint]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

High intelligence is relative. Most species have intelligence of one kind or another, some obviously being smarter than others. We could talk about why sharks don't have intelligence the level of dolphins, or why most animals are not as bright as the common crow (one of if not the smartest animal and the only aside from humans known to make tools).

While our intelligence is high compared to other species, humans do not have supreme intelligence our own IQ test confirm that people could be smarter...even the Savant/Einstein types.

If you're then asking why do humans have intelligence higher than all other creatures on this planet, perhaps we only think we do. To quote Douglas Adams:

It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons.

Aside from that theory, our evolved mental state probably has something to do with these things:

 

[michel]

I remember Noam Chomsky commenting in one of his political books that while reading evolutionary biologists Ernst Mayr works that Dr Mayr pointed out that in the scope of evoution and survival that higher intelligence did not equate to successful propogation of the species. Chomsky went on to talk about the ecological battle of the use of renewable and non-renewable energy sources and how life forms that are able to adapt to the envirorment as is, may have a higher successs rate than those who need to make changes.

He didn't go into alot of detail, it was more of a sidenote, but the contigency of adaptation stuck out to me. Say you are a beaver who needs to build a dam to get food but a flood comes in more often than usual and because of errosion keeping dams built is difficult business. Or you are an otter who uses rocks to open oysters but the area you inhabit has very few rocks to open oysters with.

A number of biologists cite the extreme success of bacteria to survive and they have no intelligence at all. They just run on auto-go. Mabye intelligence is over-rated and adaptablity is more the key. That was Darwin's origninal propostion if I read it correctly. Maybe intelligence only has as much utlity as it helps one to adapt to the envirorment, instead of altering the envirorment to fits ones needs?

My post was more of a 'tongue in cheek' reply, but your:-

Say you are a beaver who needs to build a dam to get food but a flood comes in more often than usual and because of errosion keeping dams built is difficult business. Or you are an otter who uses rocks to open oysters but the area you inhabit has very few rocks to open oysters with.

Evolution seems to have shown itself to be far more adaptable in the animal kingdom than in the human Animal one.

 

[Radio Frequency X]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

I think the answer lies somewhere in the complexity of brain evolution. Also, high intelligence in certain species could lead to overpopulation. But, maybe the correct answer is that we don't know.

 

[robtex]

I think the answer lies somewhere in the complexity of brain evolution. Also, high intelligence in certain species could lead to overpopulation. But, maybe the correct answer is that we don't know.

that is another thing Dr Mayr pointed out in some of his writings. That successful species can overpopulate and than compete for scarce resources dwindling their numbers. Dr Mayr died feb 2005 but had some amazing publications on the net. Here is wiki on him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Mayr

 

[Real Sorceror]

Its probably becuase intelligence is a very indirect, roundabout survival mecanism. An intelligent animal has to think about how to survive, rather than rely on inherent traits. It might have to create a tool to get to get the job done. Nature tends to be very direct. Rather than evolving intelligence to create weapons and clothing, species just evolve claws and thick fur.

 

[Ryan2065]

If everything had "high" intelligence then it would be normal intelligence and we would be asking why can't sloths do my math homework.

 

[doppelganger]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

Because if it were more common, it wouldn't be "high," would it?

 

[painted wolf]

define intelligence....

all animals are as 'intelligent' as they need to be to survive.

definitions of intelligence are often a humanocentric attempt to tout our supposed superiority.

wa:do

 

[logician]

Many factors need to come together to even have a chance of evolving "high" intelligence, which is why I believe it is quite uncommon in our galaxy, or the universe.

Whether "high" intelligence is a successful long-term(tens of millions of years) survival trait remains to be seen.

 

[Kungfuzed]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

Because women aren't turned on by nerds.

 

[Pardus]

Because women aren't turned on by nerds.

Simple but valid.

 

[Comprehend]

Why do so few species have high intelligence? If high intelligence is a successful survival strategy, why hasn't it evolved more often?

It is rare by definition of the words you used to describe it. If the level of intelligence you are referring to were common. Then it would not be called high intelligence. It would be average intelligence. (again by definition). If only a small portion have the level of intelligence, it is rare. If many have it, it is common...


Edit: oh crap. I see that ryan beat me to this argument. my apologies ryan.

 

[rhb100]

Accepting the premise, I think one of the primary reasons high intelligence is rare is because there are very few animals who have evolved into upright walking land animals. This upright posture allows the animal to use his hands for other tasks. I believe humans are the only animals to have so evolved.

Free hands allows the animal to use his intelligence in many ways and thereby confers a survival benefit on high intelligence.