[Knalus]

Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour

In terms of the overall discussion, just want to mention that the idea that there are no species approaching our intelligence is highly debatable and given a few hundred thousand years of evolution you might see intelligence evolve among a number of species ranging from avian (ravens,crows) through aquatic mammals (dolphins primarily), other primates (although this one seems less likely as we occupy that niche) and even cephalapods (octopi). Such evolution would likely depend on a number of factors including competition and environmental pressures, but given how long it took human intelligence to evolve, I think a few hundred thousand or even a few million years is meaningless in the grand scheme. To the extent that there are a number of species that have even what we might call 'proto-intelligence at this stage, suggests that if you have an environment in which intelligence is a selective trait, it seems likely that it will evolve somewhere to a greater or lesser degree if you have complex multi-cellular life.

The author David Brin has some things to say about that.

http://io9.com/5943832/should-we-upg...nce-of-animals

Brin doesn't buy either of these sentiments. "In all my research I have concluded that cetaceans, primates, corvids (crows), parrots, pinnipeds (sea lions), and many other species on Earth appear to be stuck under a firm glass ceiling," he told us, "roughly the same level of thinking, problem-solving, linguistic ability, and evolution seems stingy about letting any of them crash through."

His uplift series, while not science, is an interesting thought experiment involving just that subject.