What traits would an intelligent alien species absolutely have to possess?

Question

I'm was just wondering what traits...physical or otherwise...that an intelligent life form would need to have. Just some examples to get you thinking. Are hands necessary? Is bilateral symmetry?

Answer 1

Depends on your definition. Technically, whales are pretty intelligent. I think you mean tool-using species like humans, so I will answer that way.

First and foremost, you need some sort of brain. Pretty self explanatory. I have no idea how their minds might work, other than the human model is probably not the only way to achieve intelligence.

You will also need some way to pass instructions on how to build computers and atlatls on to the next generation, like language (or any other means of trading information). I suppose you could have a species that used genetic information instead of language, but it would require a lot of information storage for high technology. You could also have a species that was nearly immortal and had as much time as each individual needed to invent their own individual technology... although such a species would probably invent a way to communicate with their young even if nature did not supply them with one.

Hands, not necessarily. Opposable thumbs are nice, but you could use tentacles or pseudopods or very dexterous mandibles to manipulate pliers and soldering irons and electron microscope adjustment knobs. The tools of such a species would probably be totally different from anything ever designed by humans, but it is a possibility.

Bilateral symmetry isn't a must. Something that looks like a jellyfish or an octopus with radial symmetry would be perfectly plausible!

Unless we go back to the Immortal Alien Individualists, they would also have to be cooperative to ever get anything done. This implies that they are not totally violent, because otherwise they would be too busy fighting. If they are a starfaring species, they must be pacifists: if you can harness enough energy to send a starship out into space, you can also destroy your planet. They may be like humans and limit which weapons they use, but they will have to have some restraint or they would have blown themselves up before visiting other stars!

This is not to say they will refraim from violent behavior towards other species: there is no evolutionary imperative against tossing a meteor at someone you don't like if they are not in your star system and don't have technology to shoot back!

As long as they don't get so disgusted with "The Flavor of Love" and "Survivor" and all the other junk Earth is broadcasting they decide to just blast us, we should be ok.

Answer 2

You've already specified intelligence but otherwise I'd imagine it is entirely possible for life to have evolved without any relation to the traits that we take for granted, or even those we might envisage from popular science-fiction.

You might imagine without hands it could have a sucker or a pre-tensile tail like appendage but even those sorts of things could be entirely off the mark.

Mental could likewise be as diverse. I'd imagine life out there would be abundant enough to let your mind wander in any direction & it's a possibility.

Answer 3

they would definatly need speed

maybe some inhanced mental abilities such as foresight or maybe telapathy

super sensory abilities

enhanced vision, hearing, smelling, feel etc...

and you would definatly need have to have some type of hardened skin just for the hell of it

:) i know i wouldn't wanna tangle with one of those

Answer 4

They would like jazz. However, they would hate rap.