Which is the most 'intelligent' animal, in your opinion?

[zapatos]

 

The octopus (/ˈɒktəpʊs/ or /ˈɒktəpəs/; plural: octopuses, octopi, or octopodes; see below) is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. It has two eyes and four pairs of arms and, like other cephalopods, it is bilaterally symmetric.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus

 

After you talked about them I just looked them up in Wikipedia to learn more about them and ran across that reference.

[Moontanman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus

 

After you talked about them I just looked them up in Wikipedia to learn more about them and ran across that reference.

 

 

That is really odd, I have never read the four pairs of arms idea before.

[petrushka.googol]

The Emperor Penguin.

[Marios Kyriazis]

There is no one answer to this question. If by 'intelligence' we mean the ability to solve problems efficiently, then the most intelligent animal will have to be judged by its particular environment, and how well it adapts to changes within that environment.

[Delta1212]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus

 

After you talked about them I just looked them up in Wikipedia to learn more about them and ran across that reference.

As it says right there, they are bilaterally symmetric, so each arm on one side as a corresponding arm on the other, the same way you have an arm on one side and an opposing arm on the other side. They just have four on each side instead of one.

[Basic Biology]

I want to go with dolphins. If only they had arms... some scientists are trying to build software that can allow us to understand dolphins. Its a long way off, they have so far managed to translate one word. It would be a crazy world if we could actually communicate with other species.

 

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...l#.U6QeILFqPKc

[Peace]

Humans, dolphins, chimps, crows, African Grey parrots, whales, are all among the most intelligent animals.

 

Basic - we already do communicate with other species. . You might be interested the African Grey parrot named Alex, it is rather fascinating.

 

Besides Alex, there are many, many other times we do so . . A hawker can communicate fairly well with their hawks. Dogs can understand several hundred words in human language, pigs as well, I believe. Besides this, we don't only communicate with words, but also with body language, gestures, eye contact - and these are not at all unique to the human race; they are observed in many species, and if you meet a gorilla in the wild, or say, separated by a sturdy wall of glass, there is plenty of communication going on - they see eye contact as a challenge, and if you nod to them, they recognize that as well.

 

Also there are humans in Papa New Guinea who can call to over a dozen different Birds of Paradise - yes, there's deception involved in this kind of communication, but so that's also common to communication in a lot of places.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Peace

[Dekan]

I think the most intelligent humans are the ones who come on Science Forums.net.

 

The level of intelligence here is very high.

[Ten oz]

I think intelligence is a very subjective thing. Humans are the understood champions of intelligence and yet we are knowingly and willfully destroying our own habitat putting the safety and stability of our species in jeopardy. Just as research is most reliable when reviewed by many perhaps our scale for intelligence will be a better gauged when something other than just humans have a say?

[ZVBXRPL]

I would say human beings are simultaneously the most intelligent and the most stupid of all lifeforms on Earth.

 

[Delta1212]

I would say human beings are simultaneously the most intelligent and the most stupid of all lifeforms on Earth.

 

Some things are so colossally stupid that they can only be conceived of by someone with a great deal of intelligence.

[MonDie]

Eight years later, after a loong wait for your dozens of opinions in ten pages; releasing mine :

 

----> Spiders <----

With minuscule brains,

-They wait for desired (and correct) wind direction and strenght to glide tethered to the 'planned' target in order to anchor a web.

-Admirable uniformity to create the web.

-Spacing between turns follows an incremental proportion. Weaker points near center are reinforced closely. Some engineering there.

-Follow an efficient spiral path for construction.

-Choose sturdier over weak anchoring.

-Position themselves to sense and determine direction of prey caught on the web.

-Discern debris from prey vibrations.

-Hide protected from bad weather.

-Decide when to cleanup their webs from debris.

-Clean the debris by untangling it and dropping to the correct downwind side.

-Know a vertical web is better than in a horizontal plane.

-Select higher 'traffic' locations, as near artificial lamps.

-Select rain sheltered locations when available.

-Know how to untangle the web with no damage to it.

-Properly reconstruct damaged sections.

-They double threads at weak sections.

-Evaluate attacking or not by sizing the prey and danger.

-Know where in the prey to direct the killing bite.

-The behavior when killing another (even bigger) spider is full of amazing strategy. A great show of technique to watch.

-Since very young, fully capable of survival and to do their 'engineering work'.

-Preserve captured insects, wrapped for later 'bad days'

-Show patience over hunger.

-They wait for a calm moment to strike a captive.

-Perform evasive actions.

-They show precaution by every few steps anchoring a 'lifeline' in the event of falling/losing grip.

-Build their nests nearby considering positioning, sometimes bending leaves as housing.

-Guard their nests and young.

-I believe they have some sort of signalling/communication.

-And more I do not remember to type right now.

 

But, do not perform team work.

What I have not observed is if the have a 'tool' to cut/dispose a string, or if they ever do such action.

 

In general, cannot comprehend how much of it is from instinct, learned skills, or "intelligence"; but it surely is an amazing animal.

Its filament production organ is not related to 'intelligence' , but what a great material !

 

"Arachnids build their webs perfectly on the first try, suggesting that it's inherited." - my paraphrasing of Campbell Biology

 

Endotherms (birds and mammals) have the largest brains, and are the best learners. They also have longer rearing periods, something characteristic of intelligent species. The rearing period is a window for learning survival skills.

[MonDie]

---

 

Oh yes, and moontanman's cephalopods also have large brains, and AFAIK their closed circulatory system is unique among mollusks and even lophotrochozoans. That is, like us, they pump pure blood instead of hemolymph (a mixture of blood and lymph).

Big neurons too.

 

 

One major problem was that the small size of most neurons made it extremely difficult to study them using the techniques of the time. They overcame this by working at the Marine Biological Association laboratory in Plymouth using the giant axon of the Atlantic squid (Loligo pealei), which have the largest neurons known.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Huxley