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“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought” but when were these first intelligent thoughts thought? Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. But intelligence has evolved from the past. The innovation of fire furthered to the light bulb, as the hut became the skyscraper. This topic is worthy to investigate because modern humans have advanced so greatly, but how exactly had our genius evolved and where did our intelligence start. How are the intelligence of early humans different from that of modern humans, and what inferences can be made from this data?
What is intelligence exactly? Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills or “the ability to learn and understand things to deal with new or difficult situations” (Merriam-Webster 1). There are many types of intelligence in the human being - naturalist, musical, logical-mathematical, existential, interpersonal intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic, linguistic, intrapersonal, and spatial intelligence (Gardener 1). Although early humans did not have all of these kinds of intelligence, slowly from hominin to hominin, it evolved in to the modern human we are now.
First of all, the cranium capacities differed per early human. In ascending order, from their time period of existence, Australopithecines have 500 to 515 cm3 cranial capacities, Homo habilis have a brain capacity was 509 to 752 cm3, Homo erectus have 750 - 1250 cm3, Homo heidelbergensis had brain capacities of 1100 - 1390 cm3, Neanderthals had 1200 - 1750 cm3, while modern day humans have 900 - 1880 cm3 cranial capacities (anthro.palamar 3). This difference in the cranial capacity doesn’t show the intelligence directly of these early humans but it shows the root l...
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Overall the early humans had a lesser intelligence in all known aspects, but since the first hominin and start of the human intelligence, our knowledge capacity has been increasing steadily. The evolution of intelligence is evident in this new technological and digital age now. The Homo sapiens are becoming a more and more intelligence species and will eventually make even greater strides and strive towards perfection.
Works Cited
http://anthro.palomar.edu/Homo2/mod_Homo_2.htm http://mentalfloss.com/article/49852/6-weird-theories-early-human-intelligence http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intelligence http://skyview.vansd.org/lschmidt/Projects/The%20Nine%20Types%20of%20Intelligence.htm http://discovermagazine.com/1997/apr/andaoneandauhuh1108 http://www.taneter.org/math.html http://www.infoplease.com/dk/encyclopedia/first-modern-humans.html
Primates and cetacean have been considered by some to be extremely intelligent creatures, second only to humans. Their exalted status in the animal kingdom has lead to their involvement in many experiments which hope to gain a better understanding of the basis of human intelligence. These experiments coupled with analysis of primate and cetaceans brain structure has lead to many theories as to the development of intelligence as a trait. Although these theories seem to be sound, there is some controversy over the degree to which non-human studies can be used to infer about the structure of human intelligence.
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines intelligence as the capacity to apprehend facts and propositions, to reason about them, and the ability to understand them and their relations to each other. A. M. Turing had this definition in mind when he made his predictions and designed his test, commonly known as the Turing test. His test is, in principle, simple. A group of judges converse with different entities, some computers and some human, without knowledge of which is which. The job of the judges is to discern which entity is a computer. Judges may ask them any question they like, "Are you a computer?" excepted, and the participants may answer with anything they like, and in turn, ask questions of the judges. The concept of the test is not difficult, but creating an entity capable of passing the test with current technology is virtually impossible.
Monkey see, monkey do. Apes have always been thought to have an increased level of intelligence. Over the years, researchers have attempted to understand the degree of intelligence these primates possess. However, it is essential to understand the definition of intelligence in order to determine the amount of intelligence primates have. Intelligence is the capability of obtaining knowledge and being able to utilize it in everyday situations. There are many hypotheses that focus on the evolution of intelligence in primates that view a number of factors including brain size and modernism. Primate intelligence has been a topic of interest to many because it will allow us to further understand the close relationship between humans and primates. Additionally, we will be able to understand the difference between human and primate cognition. Some studies suggest that the human and primate brains possess many similarities. This demonstrates why primates tend to respond to stimuli in a manner that is closely related to humans. Researchers have conducted a number of studies in an effort to understand primate cognition.
In television shows and textbooks, early humans are often presented as being an isolated force within their environments - that is, that they evolved with relatively little influence from their environment. This view often stresses the advances of human beings and their exploitation of the environment as a function of their anatomical development, particularly brain capacity. However, it fails to address the fact that human beings were not as we know ourselves to be today; that we were simply another large carnivore interacting with many different types of animals and environmental conditions, who happened to evolve into a social creature with capacities for reason and innovation. I believe that that aspect of human evolution is extremely important because it is the only way in which one can begin to decipher the reasons why humans evolved from a relatively "dumb" creature, one among many, to the animal which they are today.
The Chinese have a proverb about the evolution of humanity, and in particular, the nature of intellectual relationships. Although the color green is composed from the color blue, it often shines with a more brilliant luster than its predecessor does. This is a metaphor for the pupil and teacher. The pupil learns knowledge from his teacher, but will outgrow his teacher and eventually surpass him in wisdom. I believe this accurately describes the progress of human knowledge throughout time. In fact, it is quite obvious how technology and science have improved as time goes on. There are dramatic changes even in the last decade as people take the discoveries of their predecessors and expand on those principles. Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, “The Circular Ruins,” also illustrates this idea of the descendents being superior to the ancestors. However, Borges additionally uses a creation story and the theme of recursiveness, which suggest that there is no single perfect being that created all, but that there are numerous beings that create, with each successive one becoming more powerful. This also implies that, contrary to Judeo-Christian belief, the perfect being is waiting to be created in the end and is not the creator in the beginning.
When and why did Homo Sapiens begin to grow into a thriving population that have produced both cognitive and technological advances? No one knows for certain and because of this question countless amounts of people have decided to become anthropologists. Anthropology is defined as, “the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture(Merriam-Webster). Despite all of the time and effort that anthropologists have put into discovering the correct response, the answer to this question is constantly changing because population, cognitivity and technology are constantly changing too. One way to determine how these factors affect Homo Sapiens is by studying past societies. The development of technology expanded rapidly in the Upper Paleolithic era. The technological and cognitive advances made by the growing Upper Paleolithic people changed their lives for the better and allowed them to adapt to their environment in innumerable ways.
In the Pleistocene Era, hominins have been expanded rapidly in terms of survival, such as availability of food resources, migrating and how they defend their territories. Then, this has been lead hominins to develop intelligence and create a wide variety of tools. However, there is no specific evidence or answer to, how did human beings evolve and where did they come from. Environmental conditions or pressures have been played importantly, that contributed to the selection of the genus Homo in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and there is an anatomical evidence over the past one million years, culminating in our modern genome; leads to developing human cognition and explains why modern humans are the only ones who exists today.
Sabbatini (2001), the human intelligence is defined as the key to a trove of understanding about ourselves, and how natural selection could produce such a marvel as the human brain and its capacities in such a short time (Renato M.E Sabbatini, 2001). The evolution of human intelligence is considerable as a mystery matter because the process of evolution is very difficult to be observed directly in the paleontological record such as blood, teeth or bond. Moreover, the evidence that scientists used to determine the evolution of human intelligence is the indirectly from the observation of the increase in the size of cranial capacity and also the action of result of human intelligence such as knowing how to use stone tools and be cooperative to hunt and war, the use of fire to cook, art and ritual and few other things. Furthermore, the article argued that the intelligence is not unique to humans. This is because current scientific view show that there are different level of complexity of intelligence also present in mammals and human share many features with animals which we were though it is only unique to human. In fact, it is not, such as symbolic language which has been determined it happened in
To begin with, Pinker proposes the four traits that would facilitates the process of human intelligence throughout the human evolution history, which are the stereotypical vision, group living, hunting, and the dexterity of hands. He dedicates his time explaining how each of these four traits not only show that our cognitive niche and lifestyle have changed and advanced together, but also assist human to climb up to the ladder throughout the process of natural selection. However, he then states, “no one knows whether there are other, untried gradients to intelligence in biological design space (Pinker 197).” Pinker adjusts his statement by arguing that “the first human evolution was not a cascade of changes set off by a few key inventions” and convincing the readers that cognitive revolution is required to take place, which extends the human
It is often difficult to remember that intelligence is purely a social construct, and as such is limited to operational definitions. Binet & Simon (1905, as cited in Mackintosh) defined it purely in terms of mental ability: "the ability to judge well, to comprehend well, to reason well." Wechsler (1944, as cited in Mackintosh) added behavioral factors: "the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment." Sternberg (1985) synthesizes the previous definitions, defining intelligence as "the mental capacity of emitting contextually appropriate behavior at those regions in the experiential continuum that involve response to novelty or automatization of information processing as a function of metacomponents, performance components, and knowledge acquisition components." Gardner (1993) took the definition to a societal level, as "the ability or skill to solve problems or to fashion products which...
The purpose of this paper to examine the evolution of the human brain that distinguishes them from other species based on the traits that humans possess: such as language, emotional complexity and consciousness. The significance of traits are due to adaptations in humans to promote the survival of our ancestors. Professor Hamilton (2012) discusses that the evolution of the human brain starts with the idea of the Triune brain, proposed by MacLean, whereby the human brain is made up of three parts: Reptilian, Paleo-mammalian, and Neo-mammalian. Animals with the neo-mammalian brain have a more complex brain compared to the other parts, since this is where the neocortex evolved. Humans essentially have this higher brain function which is responsible for our ability to think, make decisions, promote agency, and the ability to relate with each other. This concept fits into the evolutionary process since it shows how the complex the brain has become through evolutionary processes. In essence, as humans, we “have a rich, evidence-based understanding of our behavior that can lead us to plan to be ‘better’ or ‘more successful’ people” according to Professor Hamilton (2012). Thus, shows how evolution plays a significance in understanding human behavior and comparing humans with other species.
Dictionaries add still more definitions: Funk & Wagnall’s defines intelligence as “The faculty of perceiving and comprehending meaning; mental quickness; active intellect; understanding” , while Webster’s defines it as “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations; the skilled use of reason.” While some of these definitions are similar, none of them are exactly the same.
Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.
When a person utters the word “intelligence,” people tend to think of a genius like Albert Einstein developing some obscure equation that the great majority of the population will never understand. The problem with the definition of intelligence is that people relate intelligence to words like “genius” which require intelligence but do not have the same definition as intelligence. Often, people try to use related words to define intelligence, but these words are unable to define intelligence since many are only different levels of intelligence. While many definitions try to encompass the meaning of intelligence and various definitions describe a small part of intelligence, no definition completely explains intelligence, because intelligence is a concept that is understood only after realizing that intelligence is based on three basic concepts: logic, growth, and emotion. Although many people believe that humans are the only creatures capable of intelligence, other animals exhibit intelligence and are capable of further demonstrate the complex concept of intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence “is the ability of a human-made machine to emulate or simulate human methods for the deductive and inductive acquisition and application of knowledge and reason” (Bock, 182). The early years of artificial intelligence were seen through robots as they exemplified the advances and potential, while today AI has been integrated society through technology. The beginning of the thought of artificial intelligence happened concurrently with the rise of computers and the dotcom boom. For many, the utilization of computers in the world was the most advanced role they could ever see machines taking. However, life has drastically changed from the 1950s. This essay will explore the history of artificial intelligence, discuss the