Quote:
Originally Posted by Cynosure
Give me a break. Did these other primates discover the concept of zero, or was it taught to them? And what useful (if not enterprising) endeavors are these other primates able to apply their understanding of zero?
Show me a monkey who can be taught to, say, assemble a desktop computer (let alone design one, with all its complex and intricate parts), and on a consistent basis (that is, without the monkey quickly getting bored or distracted, and thus throwing computer parts across the room or smearing his feces over them), and maybe then I'll be impressed.
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There are many obvious things that people can't see. The reason for this, of course, is that we're just not
that smart...
Now, we're a good deal smarter than the rest of the animal kingdom but you make it sound as if other animals hardly think at all. They also feel and care. To what degree we'll never know 'cause these things are subjective and not well defined...
Your examples aren't very good. While other primates were taught the concept of zero, what you're ignoring is that you were also taught that concept. I find it highly unlikely that, left to your own devices, you would have figured it out yourself. I'm also willing to bet that you have as much hope of designing a computer as a monkey. I'm not even convinced that I can train you to design one!
Individual humans have been smart enough in particular ways and helped by particular circumstances to figure certain things out. When they did, they told someone else about it. This information went on to help someone else figure something else out. This is how mankind discovers things but make no mistake: you do very little.
What sets us apart from other animals, more so than our intellect, is our unique ability for language. With that, we can learn from other people without having to do everything that other person went through to learn it themselves. This accumulation of knowledge even traverses generations so I may learn from people who died long before I was ever born. We even rely on each other 'cause no one person can know all that much. That's why some of us design and build computers while other have no hope of doing so...
You want to see how we're not so much smarter than other animals? Visit any church or talk to any Creationist...