That ability to wipe out the human race also has the nasty side effect of wiping out 99.99% of other life on the planet. If that is what happens then so be it. shit happens! But that still put's humans in the top 0.01%. It is also extremely unlikely that we will create a Mass extinction, a nuke or two sure! Worst case we nuke us all to fuck and humans will probably still survive in bunkers etc for a 1000 years. That is survivability!
I agree is yet to be seen on the grand scale if our intelligence is truly detrimental to our environment. This is most likely the reason we have emotion coupled with logic.
I do find it hard to believe that humans are no more intelligent now than in the 16th century though. The more information that is freely available in our society brings up the mean intelligence of the species as a whole. We are in the information age and I have a feeling more and more prodigies will be born on a daily basis.
Also I was only pointing out the title is incorrect. Humans are very intelligent and its ridiculous to speculate otherwise.
You're confusing the acquisition of knowledge and the application of that knowledge with human intelligence. Had the Romans had our knowledge and tech, they'd have been able to use it equally well. However, it's likely they would have discovered things we've missed, and vice versa.
I do not see how?
The title implies human are <= other lifeforms on the planet.
Unless you are talking about my disbelief about human intelligence and progression(We are no more intelligent than 16th century).
Then your just wrong. Our mean intelligence is far greater than 400 years ago. As a species, not just socially!
It is clear that a primates brain size is predetermined by the size of the group. My theory is that this effect has 10x since the invention of the internet and social media. Freely available information is creating the foundation for new neural pathways which will be clear to see in future generations.