I think survivability is the best measure of intelligence . What do you think ?

Question

not the only measure though , just the best .

i mean in a cosmic sort of way , not as individuals

Answer 1

No, survival is really boorish.
Show me a man that can excel and he will survive as an afterthought -- or perish in joy. Survival is the worst, pessimist goal.

Answer 2

Well intelligence is the ultimate measure of proformance. Obviously, thats why there are so many forms of it, life is complex. One's survival may be the most important thing to proform at, I agree with you. But even if a survival genius were to come have about, he would be ground beef if he stood 3 feet tall and couldn't run a mile, without throwing up. This is why I say survival is something else (more than the brain), it includes the body and enviroment.

Answer 3

Sure. It doesn't hurt. It's the most practical. What good is it to be brilliant & dead? The guy still standing wins. Street smarts, common sense, survival skills are necessary in the real world. In that sense I guess I'm an idiot. Though I'm well-educated and have won several academic awards & medals, a lot of my so-called intelligence (book smarts) isn't practical in the real world. I can quote Shakespeare, discuss art history, write eloquently, spell flawlessly, sing, act, dance, paint pictures, take artistic photos etc but that isn't going to extend my life! I could never go on Survivor. My survival skills are limited (I couldn't start a fire, kill my food etc.) So I would succumb to the elements, starve & die. But I'd write some lovely poems & songs about my demise before I went! :)

There are many different types of intelligence & each is important in its own way. But life is about survival & in that sense your premise is accurate...I guess I better brush up on my boy scout skills! Tee hee!

Answer 4

No, I don't. Quite often the most intelligent among us have no common sense. They can split atoms but not plug a hole in a pipe. I believe that survivability is a combination of simple common sense and luck. If a boy gets the genes for long life and instinctually knows how to run from large carnivores and little else, but his brother is a genius, and gets the short lived gene or can't recognize a threat before it kills him then his survivability, and that of his brother, are no sign of intelligence.

Answer 5

If survivability is the measure of intelligence for a living entity, then tree's are the most intelligent forms of being on the planet.

Answer 6

Yes, you are right, but it should not be survival
of the fittest though!