Are humans the smartest things in the universe.?

Question

Because we have never recieved a signal from anywhere in space

Answer 1

God is the smartest being in the universe.

Merry Christmas

Answer 2

I hope were not the smartest things in the universe, If you look at our world, its a pretty messed up place. Everything revovles around money, which is put into place to control the populations. They have money for wars but can't feed the poor.

We haven't recieved any signals, maybe were not looking in the right places. Maybe electricity is a form of primitative energy. Or the signals that have been sent, won't reach us for another million years.

Answer 3

Before he learned to talk he probably had the best survival instincts of any other animal,and could have lived for hundred of millions of years.
After he acquired speech and the ability to be objective He likely became one of the smartest things in the universe.
Then he became technological which set him on a spiral to an early demise!

Answer 4

Well, Stephen Hawking has not called me lately, but that does not means he does not exist, or that he is not smarter than I am.
In fact, judging by the really stupid things we collectively did lately -- crashing airliners into buildings, going to war over non-existing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, re-electing Dubya Bush, going all out with dumb reality shows on TV, etc etc etc -- well, the fact that aliens are NOT calling us may be a proof of their intelligence, keeping well clear of us, don't you think?

As for the signal: perhaps none was sent yet in our direction, or that we do not have the technology to properly receive and decode it, or it was sent 200 years ago, before we even had any radio technology. I mean, where does it say aliens have to spend 100% of their time calling us?

We do not know if alien intelligence exist. Perhaps there is none. Perhaps we are the top dogs in this universe. But the absence of proof is not a proof of absence.

Answer 5

Wow, to say we are the smartest beings in the universe is a large statement. Let me put it this way, the universe is basically eternal, pretty much never ending in our concept. So even if smarter beings had signals to send, we most likely wouldnt pick them up.

Answer 6

i'm afraid with our current knowledge about the universe this question can't be sufficiently answered.
By statistics i would assume we are not alone. But any answer to that questions would shock mankind to the bone.
The chances to find out are poor.
if there is just one proof to say we are not the smartest is already in your question, for the lack of knowing the answer.
Just to be outperformed by our inability to explain our universe sufficiently.
no .. i think we are not the smartest...

Answer 7

Putting aside the issue of signals from space for a second, there is a difference between smart and wise. As a species goes we are extremely smart. When it comes to wisdom and common sense, that is another matter entirely.

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Now, along with smarts is the requirement of being physically able to make tools and to negotiate or adapt to various environments. There are big-brained (and ostensibly smart) creatures that live entirely in the sea, but lack the prerequisites to develop technology, or adapt to a land (and ultimately space) environment.

Also, I suspect that finding a signal in space is probably as rare or rarer than finding a missing link fossil. It may be necessary to search for years to find even one.

Also most likely, radio astronomers may be looking into the wrong part of the radio spectrum, which is almost as vast as space itself. A signal will occupy only a tiny fraction of a percent of the radio spectrum. And many are choosing frequencies that they think are obvious -- like that of neutrally ionized hydrogen, a frequency found in nature(!) -- that they assume will be used by an alien race to communicate with us.

But if an alien race was trying to listen in on US, they wouldn't be using these frequencies. And if they are successful at it, it will be because they listened to the frequencies of our AM and FM broadcasts, or those used to communicate with space probes. DUH! If we were to listen in on these same frequencies though, we would have to put a radio telescope on the surface of the far side of the moon, where it would be blocked from interference coming from Earth's own broadcasts.

[Addendum:] Another factor is that radio astronomers may have been listening to the wrong targets. Scientists are starting to consider that red dwarf stars --- by far the most common type of star in the galaxy --- may harbor habitable planets. If this is the case --- and red dwarfs are also the most long-lived of any kind of star --- they may have allowed much more time for intelligence to evolve on habitable planets. These may be the places to search for life that is smarter than humans. http://skytonight.com/news/home/4944232.html
[end addendum]

Finally, there are pointless publicity stunts that were a waste of time and money, like sending a signal message (via the now bankrupt Arecibo radio telescope) to globular cluster M13 -- 26,000 light years away. By the time the signal had been received, let alone replied to, history will have long forgotten the people and the presumed purpose of sending the message to begin with.

Answer 8

Heck, after reading some of the questions/answers here, I am not sure we are the smartest things on Earth.

There is a lot to be said of the lifestyles of dolphins and cats you know.

Answer 9

Hmmmmmmm ..... That's interesting. There's even debate as to whether we are the "smartest" on Earth, since we are doing such a good job of destroying it - to say nothing of any other possible planets.

Maybe they are smart not to signal us?

Answer 10

There is more than one universe, so are you talking about in all of space? To assume that we are is arrogant as is assuming we are the only form of thinking life in all existance. However, as far as we know, or at least the general public knows, we are. But, dogs and cats do a great job of getting us to serve them.