How does evolution explain why humans are so smart?

Question

obviously intelligence can and does help many species of animals on the earth, but how would we evolve to the point where we are now? There isnt anything that comes remotely close to human intelligence. Why would we get so smart when human survival could be easily achieved on much much less?

i gotta laugh at you people asking me: why do you say humans are so smart

well the answer is right in front of your face, nothing else on the face of the earth can add or even come Close to understanding this simple equation:
A^2 + B^2 = C^2

Find me the animal that can solve that and ill devote my life to serving you

and i cant vouch for all humans. really, statistics show(or at least south park and mind of mencia) that one out of every 3-4 people are idiots. Ive found this true from experience

Answer 1

This is actually a great question, and entire books have been written on it. I am not going to try an condense down those books (look for authors like Jared Diamond and Stephen j. Gould) but I will just give you my thoughts.

First, the neandertal were very close to us in intelligence. There is much debate on how close, but the evidence points towards them being almost as adaptable as us and probably capable of symbolic thought. This shows lightning can strike twice.

Second, you say no other animal comes remotely close, but this isn't quite true. chimps, gorillas, some whales & dolphins, and elephants have been shown to be quite intelligent, capable of learning, communicating, even using tools. So while I'm not saying they will win in a chess match, they do come at least remotely close to our intelligence.

Third, you really answer your own question, as you say intelligence can and does help us and other species. If this adaptation is actually useful, then why wouldn't we continue to evolve in that direction?

My final point is this: once we became smart enough to outsmart the natural world, we then had to outsmart each other! Our anscestors had to be smart enough to not just kill mammoths and cook meat, they had to be smart enough to defend against raids from other tribes, or smart enough to be useful in a tribe full of smart people, in order to stand out to potential mates. that is a powerful selective pressure on any species, but especially our anscetors.

Answer 2

Primitive humans started being a bit smarter than other animals, which allowed them to teach each other things, and communicate information on an abstract level, coordinating hunting and defensive strategies, and ensuring better survival. So, the smarter one got, the more successful, and more widespread the offspring of the smarter ones. By developing clever strategies, humans were then able to settle new areas where not as smart apes would have no chance of surviving.
This whole process kept going until the point where the risk of losing one human to predation from wild animal was essentially zero (fire, weapons, having one member of the tribe keep watch while the other sleep, building shelter) and that animal domestication and agriculture was developed.
From that point on, the evolutive pressure to get smarter humans reduced, and we should not be smarter than our ancestors of 10000 years ago. Everything that we collectively have achieved since then is just leveraging previous advancement, building upon the foundation.
So, it is not really a question of survival, but of overwhelming success and total domination. Chimps are smart enough to survive, and so are mice, since those specie survive. But can they take over a whole planet?

Answer 3

I see 2 flaws in your question. First, who says there is nothing else that comes remotely close to human intelligence, and I am restricting this to life on Earth? Secondly, who says that humans are so smart? When we function in herd mentality stupidity seems to rise to the top. How many years have humans known elephants yet it has only been in the last 5 years that we have discovered how they communicate.

I'm not even sure that evolution explains anything. It is a process and only in hindsight do we call it evolution. If it could explain, then it would also let us predict how a species would adapt to its changing environment.

Answer 4

Oh my God humans are so entitled.
We are not the smartest animal on the planet. In fact, we only have the ability to recognise only one form of intelligence... our own. We have no idea if we are the only ones who know about science and mathematics. For all way know, the elephant could be superior and possess such wisdom, that we wouldn't even begin to understand his reasoning for not "adjusting his environment" as humans do. Just because we build houses and make our own artificial environment does not make us smart.
In fact, we are destroying our own environment, and are the only species on the planet that has FAILED to live in harmony with the planet. Every other animal has solved this ultimate problem, except for humans-the virus with a sense of self-entiltement.
Our history, our destruction, our over eating, our complete lack of respect for any other animal but ourselves, and our need to control our environment due to failure of adjusting in harmony.... show just how ******* stupid we really are.

A truly intelligent species would be humble, have respect and appreciation for every species and the type of intelligence it possesses, live in harmony with nature, in peace with each other, and recognise that the belief of any type of hierarchy, especially the ones where humans are at the top, is the result or ignorance and complete lack of understanding for anything that isn't human or what doesn't follow the norm.

If something is not human, we have no right to "think" we understand.
A human thinks that his human intelligence can understand the intelligence of something that is non-human. A typical human, looking down on everything, as usual.
WAKE UP.

Answer 5

The theory of evolution cannot explain why. Humans are defenseless creatures with no sharp claws or teeth, no stingers, and no real defenses. If we were to survive we would need our smarts. Evolution says that we gradually got our intelligence, but if this is true then how did the stupider versions of ourselves survive. This is a place (the place) where the theory of evolution is proven wrong.

Answer 6

With the increase of brain size, intelligence followed. We are by far the biggest brained animals in relation to our bodies. While most animals use a lot of their brains for instinct and body control, we use much of it for other things. So we are the only species able to understand complex things because we have the extra brain area to do that.

Answer 7

I think Phil S. sums up current thinking, rather succinctly. You seem like a later day Wallace; he thought we had an unexplained surplus of intelligence. Some people; like Gould, think along along the lines of spandrels. As I said, though, Phil S. has captured modern thinking on the subject.

Answer 8

"Why would we get so smart when human survival could be easily achieved on much much less? "

What makes you think it could? Survival depended on, not just out-surviving other species, but out-surviving other humans. Thus, humans got smarter by having to compete with other humans.

Answer 9

Macro evolution explains nothing concretly. Its a THEORY. That means it hasnt been proven. Micro evolution has been proven, and it only explains more superficial differences that occur within species, so it doesnt explain why humans are so smart.
Besides, I've found that many humans arent really as smart as they think they are!!!!
LOL

Answer 10

One idea was that plant based food became very scarce over a short period of time and only those with superior intelligence were able to devise strategies to acquire food beyond the limitations of our body. (ie, using weapons and hunting strategies)