Could a dog's brain evolve to be as intelligent as a human brain given millions of years or more of evolution?
It depends on the evolutionary pressure that promotes greater intelligence. Right now dogs have hit the evolutionary “honey-hole.” They’re loved, protected, accepted, etc. there’s no evolutionary pressure for them to get smarter. If they became smarter they might lose some of these benefits.It also depends on what you call intelligence. (Seen At 11: Dogs May Be More Intelligent Than You RealizeDogs are also handicapped having paws instead of hands. Having hands enables manipulation which can promote intelligence. It also helps to have fingers that can be opposed by a thumb. Only humans have this, A human can pick up a pin, but your pet chimp can’t.But the big thing is language. I recall seeing a funny Rin-Tin-Tin (a famous dog noted for high intelligence Rin Tin Tin - Beloved Famous German Shepherd) comic strip. People are standing around talking when in rushes Rin-Tin-Tin and starts running back and forth excitedly. One person says, “I think he’s trying to tell us something! What is it, Boy?”Rinty holds up one finger of his paw. One person says, “Ok, first word!” Rinty then does the a complete charade of falling in a well. As the people guess each word correctly Rinty puts his paw on his nose. (Charade-speak for “on the nose, or that’s right!”)After laboriously acting out of each word, the people get it: Little Billy has fallen in the well! They rush out and rescue him, then come back and lavish praise on Rinty.I hope this illustrates the importance of language and the value of hands.I’m afraid millions of years from now, dogs will not be any smarter than they are now!
What are the most intelligent pets?
You're not immature because you asked this. You have a right to have your questions answered.The best way to figure out the pet for you, though, is to do loads of research and talk to people who own these animals.If you're not ready to commit but you're seriously thinking of a pet, perhaps you could get some hands-on experience volunteering at a shelter, helping out a friend who owns a pet, or maybe fostering one? That way you could see what it's like and whether it's for you, without committing to it.A friend of mine has pet parrots and I've learned a lot from him. Parrots are intelligent birds. However, they seem to be social animals. I don't know a lot about them, but you should do a lot of research about any pet that interests you. Some species of animals are VERY social and get depressed when they're kept alone. I'm not sure but I think parrots fall into this category. Ditto for guinea pigs. I have owned guinea pigs and I can tell you that they're EXTREMELY social pets.Guinea pigs make wonderful pets. They won't do your taxes for you but they are gentle animals. I love their sweet squeals! They can be fragile, though, so it's important to do loads of research about their care (as with any pet :-) ). They're worth the work, though.www.guinealynx.info and www.cavyspirit.com and great guinea pig sites.Stitch was an alien, but they tried to pass him off as a deformed dog. Perhaps a dog is your best bet.Here's a great article with advice on how to determine if a dog is right for you and, if so, what breed is best for you:http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/righ...I love cats and dogs... like I said, you could always volunteer at an animal shelter and get some experience with them.If you decide to get a pet, then a shelter or rescue group is the best source of pets. A reputable breeder is the next best alternative. Pet stores SUCK, though. Don't get a pet from there! They're a business and the animals are looked upon as merchandise and profit takes priority at the animals' expense. The animals suffer from very cruel treatment as a result, who wants to perpetuate that?However if you're like me, you'll wanna take them ALL. :)I'm glad you asked! Good luck!
If rodents were as intelligent as humans, how would we deal with them? How much of a nuisance would they be?
If rodents were as intelligent as humans, how would we deal with them? How much of a nuisance would they be?Many rodents seem far more intelligent than are human beings. Rats and mice learn quite well, find their way through mazes, and avoid repeating prior errors. People tend to be challenged with these same tasks. It would seem that if the average rodent was as intelligent as the average human being, those rodents wouldn't be nearly as successful as they are now.
Are dolphins smarter than humans?
It is entirely possible but we have no way to test that as there are different forms of intelligence that we don't posses or understand such as the whistles they make. We know it is language, and it seems complex, but we don't know what they are actually talking about.There is one way dolphins are smarter than us. They are far more adapted to their environment that we are. They don't need clothes, houses, farms, etc. Everything they need is free in the ocean for the taking, or at least was, before humans started sailing the seas and polluting them.One definition of intelligence is the ability to successfully live and reproduce. There is no doubt dolphins have all the abilities and skills needed to live and reproduce without outside help unlike humans.I think the best answer, to your question, is that we are both intelligent animals but with different knowledge bases, skills, and abilities. Trying to compare us would be like comparing apples to oranges. We are both mammals but dolphins live in the ocean and humans live on land.There are a couple of ways where dolphins are definitely smarter than humans. They live with their environment in a non-harmful way while we are polluting ourselves into extinction. Which of us would you say is the smarter animal in the long run?
What's the basic difference between human intelligence and animal intelligence?
You have to keep in mind that there are various types of intelligence. There are many species better than us in some areas, and others that have otherwise exceptional abilities:Chimpanzees have photographic memory, something only very few humans doSea lions have a superior long-term memory compared to us, and cats have a short-term memory up to 20 times better than oursClark's nutcracker bird has a superhuman spatial memory where they can remember the location of up to 30.000 pine nutsCrows are very good at recognizing faces. In an experiment, scientists harassed crows with masks, and every time they would show up again in those masks, crows would attack them - not just the crows that were harassed before, but also others that hadn’t seen the masks before. This showed that they communicated with each other and “explained” that the men in masks were a target. They also can make tools and manipulate objects (such as bending a wire to make a hook) to get a rewardAny dog owner will tell you how good he/she is at understanding us, revealing emotional intelligence adapted to humans.Dolphins have a complex language, and even name each otherHaving said that, humans are far better at reasoning and problem solving than any other animal. I think what you are looking for is to know what distinguishes our reasoning ability from other species, and the answer comes from natural selection: our reasoning, planning and problem solving gave early hominids an advantage over other species in the same habitat (and among each other), and so our brain ended up turning out the biggest among any other species (relative to body weight). These are some of the abilities that distinguish our intelligence from other species:The ability to recombine different types of knowledge and information to gain new understandingThe ability to generalise and apply a “rule” or solution for a known problem to a new and different situationThe ability to create symbolic representations of sensory input and to easily understand them
Are any animals smart enough to detect that humans are smarter and more capable than they are?
Why would they think your ability to bring them an armful of hay happens because you’re ‘smarter and more capable’ than they are?In fact, I don’t believe animals think we are ‘smarter and more capable’ at all, no matter what we do. I don’t think animals think in those terms at all.“Alright, son, now that you’re born, I have to tell you the facts of life. For one, that little crooked two-legged little thing over there, that’s a human. They’re in charge.”“You have got to be kidding me.”“Don’t worry, in certain situations some of them are educable. But you must not bite or kick them. And don’t crowd in on them for safety, even in an emergency.”“Why?”“I’m no entirely sure, but they are impossibly frail. And they are incredibly easily offended.”———————————————————-“Hey.”“What?”“She forgot to give me my hay.”“You have got to be kidding me.”“Would you tell her? She understands you better.”“I’ll try, but you know how they are.”“Oh yeah, dumb as a bag of hammers.”“Okay, here goes…you’ll know the results soon. Human….HUUUUUUMAN! HEY! See my hay? Yes? You get it? Now, LOOK OVER AT the PONY. IS HE EATING? DO YOU SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS PICTURE?”Yes, in fact, horses point to stuff. Hay! Pony! Hay! Pony! SEE? CAN YOU IN FACT, HUMAN, TELL WHAT I MEAN???? POINTING TO HAY! POINTING TO PONY! OH HELL I GIVE UP! oh….oh….oh look, dang, she got it! THEY CAN LEARN!In fact, in a study in Europe, horses were trained to select their own wardrobe. Not only did they make weather-appropriate choices when it was cold or rainy, they also requested no clothing when it was warm and dry outside.
How Smart is a Horse? Comparable to a Dog?
As you said, they are very different animals, and they have different kinds of intelligence. You can't judge this by how much you love the animal; I don't like pigs particularly yet I'll admit that it's a fact that they're smarter than dogs. I know I consider my horse to be "smarter" but I speak to my dog more as if he would understand. Perhaps that is part of our culture, however, because I have been taught to communicate with my horse through my aids, and I consider my horse to be more of a working animal, while my dog is simply a pet. Some horses seem more intelligent than some dogs, too. I think it depends, because just as you couldn't put all humans in the same category of intelligence I don't believe you can put all of a species in the exact same category. I think of my sister's horse as "smarter" than mine, but I have no proof that that is so. Also, think about what you define as intelligence. Is education/learned skills pat of how we evaluate intelligence? if it is, then my horse is smarter, because he has far more learned skills than my dog. Now that i think of it, I probably believe my sister's horse to be smarter because he competes at a higher level than I. I don't think idolization of humans is a prerequisite for intelligence. I think dogs often learn faster, so does that make them more intelligent? This isn't a question that has a pure and simple answer. It was fun to think about though, so thanks for posting it!
Are any other animals as friendly to humans as dogs?
Sea Pandas!Also known as Orcas or Killer Whales.“Why would you say that?” you may ask.Well. consider this…These guys are the apex predators of the sea, right?Wrong.These fellows are on the menu of Orcas. With greater speed, agility and brain power, Orcas just flip them over, drown them, and eat them.Only problem is the tough skin, resulting in worn teeth of ‘offshore’ Orcas, but I digress…Orcas are also known to eat massive sea herbivores like this poor Bowhead Whale.And dolphins, sea lions and even the occasional deer.Oh Deer! A rare meal for mammal-hunting killer whales?In short, Sea Panda eats everything he can sink his teeth into, except for…Humans!Wild orcas have a curiosity for humans.They don’t flip our little boats over and drown us.They don’t breach and slam dunk on top of us (at least not intentionally).If you happen to be diving or snorkeling beside them, they don’t drag you into the murky depths.So the apex predator of the oceans, who eats Bambi, Flipper and Jaws, is curiously friendly to us.Even though we treat them like this…And this…Big friendly Sea Pandas…Peace.