Now or hundreds of thousands of years ago. Humans or Primates still reach sapiense but also a different type of animal does also. What if it was i.e an Elephant. i.e Would they attempt to build a civilization like humans do , eventually ? What about language ? What if an animal reached sapience today ? Would it adopt the human way of life ? This are mostly alternative history scenarios...
What if a different type of animal reached sapience ?
- Thread starter @N1k1T0$
- Start date
mr_lewington
King
I doubt any animal is capable of being compared to primates but I would assume there would be war.
Don't you think that the more experienced Humans with such a technological advantage would actually use such animal either a slave (with increased rights of course compared to other slaves like for example i imagine it to be illegal to kill it)and both a member of their society eventually ? Unless some humans will fight for such animal's rights while others will fight against them...
Neonanocyborgasm
Deity
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2004
- Messages
- 4,695
Unless the species were geographically isolated for a long time, I predict war. Whenever two groups of sentients are pressed together, conflict is inevitable. It does not even require two different species, but even just two different cultures of the same human species.
Do you also predict some humans allying with them ?
holy king
Deity
that "smart animal" would share fate of neanderthals...
Mad Man
Your lord and master
If dogs sapienced we would have real werewolves and that would be cooool!
Onionsoilder
Reaver
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 3,173
If cats became intelligent & developed thumbs...
...they would go, "Meh screw it" and fall asleep.
...they would go, "Meh screw it" and fall asleep.
West 36
Can count up to 4
I always thought it was interesting that on every major land mass discovered, we found fellow humans, and while yes there were differences and we fought over them, we could still communicate and understand each other relatively easily. A credit to our species really.
But I've also thought, what if the Europeans made it to America and found not man, but an entirely different intelligent being. That would have been something... but yeah, it pretty much have to be a primate of some sort, unless we go even more sci fi than this already is.
But I've also thought, what if the Europeans made it to America and found not man, but an entirely different intelligent being. That would have been something... but yeah, it pretty much have to be a primate of some sort, unless we go even more sci fi than this already is.
I believe e.g. dolphins are pretty smart...
Longus
Deep Blue
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2008
- Messages
- 260
The major problem faced by an intelligent elephant (if we run with the initial example here) would be manipulation of their environment; as Onionsoldier pointed out, opposable thumbs are what it's all about baby. How are they going to build hearths, shelters, clothes, cultivate the land? Those trunks they sport are only so flexible. At the end of the day you can't (naturally, as far as we know) beat a human hand when it comes to making and using tools to achieve the physical improvements in environment required to enhance the safety and quality of life. And these are necessary advances; what's the point of all that intelligence if you can't find any way to use it? Sure dolphins could be clever alright, but without the means to manipulate anything, bend and shape their world to their will (and access to fire would help here too!) they're, at best, just child-like inquisitives jumping through the surf.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
Douglas Adams would beg to differ.
Hmm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Long,_and_Thanks_for_All_the_Fish
But he would also disagree with some folks here that even if dolphins where intelligent the fact that they have no hands make them unable to utilize technology...
What do you mean by "sapient"? Is it not just a synonym for "intelligent"?
They certainly are some of the most intelligent species on the planet. Perhaps not quite as intelligent as chimpanzees or gorillas, but these are not "different type of animals", they are primates like humans.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
Sapient means "self-aware." There are only a handful of creatures that could, say, recognize themselves in a mirror. Off the top of my head, I want to say it's humans, great apes, elephants, and a few others, that are about all the sapient life we have.
Similar threads
