His answer is the octopus. What say you?
Humans most certainly would be it by almost any intellectual qualifier you chose to use. Grading every species we have encountered with regards to intelligence and ability to control its environment humanity is a wildly insane outlier. To point of absurdity, to the point where we do not fit to such an extent that some agency other than organic evolution might be suspected.
Yeah but we literally are changing the planet and affecting other species. We’ve developed nukes that could take out the whole world
Intelligence is a qualifier unlike other physical qualities, it allows humanity to dominate its environment while not being physically superior to many of the species surrounding us. Intelligence is a quality we recognise and calibrate in other species and seek out in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the development of artificial intelligence. Unlike flying or walking intelligence is universally accepted as a uniquely separate attribute, although not of course by you, so this is where I will end my discussion with you.
I don’t think any species could beat my Revolution X top score so… we kind of do dominate sweetie.
Dominant at what?
None? We have millions of years head start. No creature will replace us unless we obliterate ourselves.
Why would even be a next “dominant single species”, like humans?
Out of the billions of alive organisms that had ever been on earth only humans have human intelligence. It doesn’t seem like a common trait for any organism.
I think that humans are just some weird anomaly. Once we are gone there will probably not be any other intelligent species for a while, if forever.
Serious question:
How difficult is it for octopus to change via evolution so it becomes more like a primate?
They can already breathe on land for up to an hour.
I think they just need a few key mutations to live longer and nurture their young.
Fun fact: octopuses* respond to MDMA, and become social and cuddly. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/scientists-gave-octopuses-some-molly-heres-what-happened
I seem to recall a similar story where drug exposure reversed the octopus’s usual behavior of simply waiting for death after mating, but I couldn’t find a reference from a quick search so perhaps I am misremembering this story, about the biological mechanisms behind that behavior: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-close-in-on-why-octopuses-tragically-destroy-themselves-after-mating
