The Clog from OzDouglas Adams - Are Dolphins More Intelligent Than Humans?
September 18th 2006 06:26
"Man has always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - while 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 reason." - Douglas Noel Adams
I think if dolphins were intelligent engough to actually chat about this sort of stuff to each other they’d be intelligent enough to realise that mankind, although constantly destroying itself through many of its inventions (like nuclear weapons, fast food and chemistry exams), has been capable of amazing feats due to the largest brain to body weight ratio in the entire animal kingdom.
In fact the human brain is so relatively large that women have an absolute hell of a time giving birth, more so than other animals. Because our pelvis has gotten
smaller due to our now bipedal stance (on two legs) it has become agonising to push a babies head through... where it has to get through.
Since babies are literally pushing the limits at their birth after nine months gestation, any longer in the womb and the babies’ head just wouldn’t fit through the pelvis. This is why human babies are born relatively prematurely and they require constant adult attention and care for the first few years of life. Think of other animals - a giraffe for example, they are born one day and are expected to walk and mostly fend for themselves the next day. It is our increased brain size that makes birth a pain and mother’s extended care a necessity.
Maybe the dolphins are living the smarter life - our huge skulls are an absolute pain in the nether regions. But I'm sure the positives of our massive brains much outweigh the negatives.
ceanWorld_DolphinPhoto.jpg" target="_blank">Image under the GNU Free Documentation License
But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man for precisely the same reason." - Douglas Noel Adams
I think if dolphins were intelligent engough to actually chat about this sort of stuff to each other they’d be intelligent enough to realise that mankind, although constantly destroying itself through many of its inventions (like nuclear weapons, fast food and chemistry exams), has been capable of amazing feats due to the largest brain to body weight ratio in the entire animal kingdom.
In fact the human brain is so relatively large that women have an absolute hell of a time giving birth, more so than other animals. Because our pelvis has gotten
Who's smarter? Us or them?
Since babies are literally pushing the limits at their birth after nine months gestation, any longer in the womb and the babies’ head just wouldn’t fit through the pelvis. This is why human babies are born relatively prematurely and they require constant adult attention and care for the first few years of life. Think of other animals - a giraffe for example, they are born one day and are expected to walk and mostly fend for themselves the next day. It is our increased brain size that makes birth a pain and mother’s extended care a necessity.
Maybe the dolphins are living the smarter life - our huge skulls are an absolute pain in the nether regions. But I'm sure the positives of our massive brains much outweigh the negatives.
ceanWorld_DolphinPhoto.jpg" target="_blank">Image under the GNU Free Documentation License
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