Re: What IS Intelligence

From: Wouter Lievens (lievenswouter_at_snotmail.com)
Date: 12/07/03 

Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2003 13:11:24 +0100

"R. Steve Walz" <rstevew@armory.com> schreef in bericht
news:3F66BA99.664E@armory.com...
> Dennis Clark wrote:
> >
> > This list falls into a really big trap. We are defining intelligence
> > and intelligent behavior by what we observe in our own species. Hell,
> > we don't even see all of these behaviors in all of the cultures on this
> > planet.
> ----------
> Yes we do.
>
>
> > Another thought that I've had, most people seem to think that
> > intelligence is a binary switch: this species has it, this doesn't -
> > A very humanocentric point of view, if it ain't like us, it ain't
intelligent.
> -----------
> We invented it, if they can't do it then *** them.

The discussion is about the _definition_ of intelligence!

> > I feel that intelligence is a sliding scale based upon the species.
> -----------
> An idea that ONLY you're capable of thinking, and animals are not.
>
>
> > I've
> > seen planning and tool use in other species (chimps, bears, racoons),
> > forms of government in wolf packs and horse herds, and many animals seem
to
> > have the ability to communicate with each other, like dolphins. I posit
> > that just about any animal is intelligent, just perhaps not so much as
> > (most) humans.
> ------------------
> You're merely waffling. The thing that intelligence is, is only
> something humans have. If animals had it, they'd be posting here.

Define intelligence?
Most people of this planet CANNOT post here!

> > However, we are very, very limited in our ability to create
> > a proper definition because we live in a vacuum. There are no other
> > intelligent species that we've learned to communicate with, so we have
> > absolutely NO frame of reference. We can continue to try, but until we
> > have met and communicated with another intelligent species our theories
> > are no better than the world views of the ancient Egyptians, Norse
seaman
> > or Gaelic druids. We just need more data!
> > * Dennis Clark
> ----------------
> While this is true, we can extrapolate from it. We do this in other
> fields.
>
> If we were trapped in an animal's body with our intelligence, then
> we'd try to communicate with the humans. If we didn't it would be
> because we didn't HAVE our intelligence. Magical imaginings of
> there being "other KINDS of intelligence" are fanciful poppey***
> that eveb animals don't think about EITHER, only WE do!!
>
> Only WE are intelligent, because we INVENTED it.
>
> -Steve
> --
> -Steve Walz rstevew@armory.com ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/rstevew
> Electronics Site!! 1000's of Files and Dirs!! With Schematics Galore!!
> http://www.armory.com/~rstevew or http://www.armory.com/~rstevew/Public

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