So. Which is better for a species? In your humble opinion of course? (see details please)?

Question

Is it better for a species to be *very* intelligent but only somewhat social? Or is it better for a species to be *very* social but only somewhat intelligent?

Yes, you can include humans in the discussion. :) I am actually thinking of this in terms of "Would we have turned out better if we had been more social but dumber?"

Thanks for your time! :)

Answer 1

Being this is all just opinions, and "better" is obviously an opinion, I will give you my response. Personally, I think that people that are more social are typically happier and smile more and generally have more people that like to be around them. There are some people that are really intelligent but kind of oafs when it comes to socializing, and I don't believe that those people are as happy and they typically have lower self esteem. I sometimes am lucky because I am somewhere in the middle of those 2- I am fairly social (in the event that I actually get out) and I am intelligent as well- but not super, rocket scientist, smart. Did you ever see "Beauty and the Geek"? That right there gives you an idea of some people, because even beautiful people tend to have a low self esteem because they have been running their entire life based on their looks and not learning along the way. Some people are blessed with both social skills and smarts, but not many. I think the people somewhere in between are usually happier because they have the social skills and intelligence to get through life successfully.

Answer 2

Good question. First let me clarify the viewpoint from which I will answer te question. Being "better" I assume would mean surviving better and leaving more offspring/sustaining a high population number.

From that definition of better I believe that pure eusociality as seen in Hymenopterans (bees, termites and ants) is the best way to go. These animals are extremely social, but in their very essence are just biologically programmed to do a certain task to survive and are therefore quite unintelligent. Eusocial organisms of the insect Order Hymenpotera have colonies that can exceed one million in population size. Each member of the colony has a specific task and by being very social and working together the colonies are present, in varying amounts, all over their geographic distribution which is pretty much worldwide, except for the intolerably cold climates. I think that nature has already answered which is better for society as a whole.

However, for the individual being less social and more intelligent is better. What quality of life does an ant possess. All it does is work all the time it knows no better than to do so. The more intelligent animals, those that possess cognitive thought, such as humans and dolphins spend more time enjoying life thereby living life to a higher quality than the worker ant.

If humans were more social this would require us to take on a different societal form in which polymorphism and concentrated reproductive abilty would have to exist. (As a side note the only eusocial mammals are naked mole rats.) Overall I would say that humans would not have culture or art if we were more social, yet we would ensure our species survival for a greater period of time.

For me I would leave things just the way they are.

Answer 3

My humble opinion is that if you are intelligent enough you can work out how to interact socially. If you are dumb but good socially you won't get too far as a species because you are likely to be killed by the next predator that comes along cause you'll be too busy trying to work out what's going on before you can come up with a strategy that utilises your developed social skills

Answer 4

I think a good mix is best. If we were all generally very social and not too smart, who would come up with all these brilliant inventions we have?
And if we were all very smart, not too social then I don't think we would have much fun.
I think the mix we have is just fine, some of us just need to find a better way to apply ourselves.

Answer 5

In other words, would I prefer to be a primate or a honeybee?