Spyke

Syndicated from the fediverse. Read and engage on the original instance.

View original on lemmy.world

20 replies

lemmy.ca

“The idea that the smartest bear might be smarter than the dumbest human comes from a famous Yosemite ranger quote about the difficulty of designing bear-proof trash cans: "There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists,"

49

I first heard a variation on this decades ago in regards to designing latches on field gates to keep horses in, but allow humans access. The problem being that a lot of horses are wicked smart and shockingly dexterous with their lips, and so many people are shockingly dense and lacking in fine motor skills.

13
ani.social

Is the smartest dog smarter than the dumbest human?

Certainly. Also cats, pigs, crows, etc.

The dumbest humans are new born babies. It's not hard to beat them.

24
hperrinreply
lemmy.ca

Please don’t beat newborn babies, no matter how easy it is.

38

The "Ethical issues" section of that wiki page is certainly interesting.

6

The dumbest humans are new born babies.

At least there's a burbling intelligence going on there, processing their senses, forming impressions and so forth... even if they're barely able to act on them beyond crying, gurgling and fussing.

Compare that to someone with severe brain damage, or being in a coma, or having severe mental disorders, or maybe having severe developmental issues. Those poor things. Even insects and other animals might be argued to be effectively smarter than such unfortunates.

9
remonreply
ani.social

Well, it's a science community and that is technically wrong. I dislike Trump and his cronies as much as the next guy, but they are still smarter than even that best service dog. It's more a lack of empathy and other mental disorders that make them bad, not their intellect.

6

I'd trust a dog to lead me around safely more than any of those politicians. Dog knows not to cross the street when it's unsafe. Trump probably assumes the traffic will stop for him.

Or just compare the results of his cognitive tests to a dog's.

0

Of course. Because trust isn't really related to intelligence. There is a lot of people I trust that are not the smartest fellows. But they are good, kind people.

Trump probably assumes the traffic will stop for him.

Sure ... because it does. In fact, I think they lock down half the city when he goes along any street.

3

So what is a dog's response going to be whether to repair a street or not? Hire this person or that person? Build this or that building? Use this or that contractor?

Of course Trump is going to choose the wrong thing. However, a dog is too dumb to even understand the choices or even that a choice is offered to them or even the context of being a leader.

It's entirely ridiculous to suggest a dog is smarter than even a dumb adult human like Trump. All you're doing is just showing that your hatred is bigger than your sense of truth, i.e. you're ready to bend the truth to hurt your enemies.

0

You reached the end

What is the bare minimum animal where its smartest member is as smart as the dumbest human? | Spyke