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Originally posted by Rich76_911s
Why were we the only animal to develop such intelligence. When the advantages of intelligence are far superior to any other evolutionary advantage? Just food for thought I am not picking sides.
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Very good question. While we are at the top of the food chain from an intelligence standpoint, there are other animals out there with some impressive intelligence (dolphins for one). One thing to keep in mind is that the geological time scales at work here are really beyond human comprehension. It has taken a long time for us to get where we are. Who knows, maybe 100 million years from now, descendants of dolphins will rule the Earth? There are many other species of animals that have developed the ability to use tools, communicate, etc., so we don't have a monopoly on "intelligence".
From an evolutionary standpoint, maybe we were the only animals that *required* increased intelligence to survive? After all, we're not very fast to catch other prey. We had to be smarter to survive and so, over eons and eons the smarter populations of primates evolved into modern day humans. There is alot of evidence that this, in fact, occured. It could have been that apes evolved in an environment where increased intelligence was of little evolutionary benefit (plentiful, easily obtained food for instance).
I think you're thinking is on the right track, though...
Mike