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Neil degrasse Tyson: Alien vs. Human Intelligence.

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posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 01:10 PM
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I stumbled across this video and thought I would share with you.

www.wimp.com...



In the video, Neil degrasses Tyson talks about how we have around 98 to 99% the same DNA as a chimpanzee and it is that 1% of DNA that distinguishes us from chimps and how that 1% difference is what allows us to paint, compose, talk, build things such as the Hubble space telescope and many other things. Then goes on to say now what if we add in another life form that is 1% different then us as we are 1% different in the direction that we are from the chimp.

This life form would look at things such as the Hubble telescope and say awww how cute and how something like quantum mechanics would be something their toddlers can do as our toddlers can learn and do sign language where a chimp cannot.

never the less, it gave me a whole new perspective on maybe why and if there is another life form out there, why they do not communicate with us.

Neil compares it in the video of us talking to a worm. you might do it, but you really don't expect a reply back from the worm.



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 01:53 PM
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reply to post by I think Im normal
 
Tyson is a great personality for science. He took a lot of comedy flack for demoting Pluto to a planetesimal with young kids writing letters pleading on behalf of Pluto.

Poor Pluto.

The '1% difference' is more like a thought experiment. It does the job and makes us consider the possible distance between what people expect from ET and what they might actually be.

In my opinion, the analogy of us talking to a worm being like how aliens could see us is wrong. Maybe it's the 1% in me talking? We can't be sure of much. At the same time, Tyson's example succeeds by making us think about it in the first place.



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 02:00 PM
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Originally posted by Kandinsky
Tyson's example succeeds by making us think about it in the first place.


Exactly, his worm analogy could be far off, it is the point you mention above, he got me thinking,



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 02:06 PM
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I threw this video onto a thread a couple of days ago. I love it.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

BTW, instead of using the wimp.com link, search that title on youtube and use the youtube button to put the vid on the thread.



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 02:12 PM
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He makes an interesting comparison but it fails in the assumption that our DNA is anything like that of an alien species. Saying that humans are only 1% different in DNA from chimps, which constitues our intelligence over them, is irrelevant when comparing our intelligence / DNA to aliens since it obviously does not have human roots.



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 02:14 PM
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reply to post by xEphon
 


I do not think he was assuming, but making a hypothetical comparison.



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 02:23 PM
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reply to post by I think Im normal
 


Yes, I understand he was making a hypothetical scenario, but, it was based around the fact that aliens would have the same DNA as humans with a 1% positive change - the same difference that we have with chimps.
Like Kandinsky said, it's an interesting thought experiment, and I see what he was trying to get at, but it is fundamentally flawed.



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 03:00 PM
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Originally posted by xEphon
He makes an interesting comparison but it fails in the assumption that our DNA is anything like that of an alien species. Saying that humans are only 1% different in DNA from chimps, which constitues our intelligence over them, is irrelevant when comparing our intelligence / DNA to aliens since it obviously does not have human roots.

I think that's being too literal about his point. He means that whatever difference that makes us so much more capable than chimps is comprised of just 1% to 2% of our DNA. Then take an alien species - no doubt with very different DNA - but if they are also just generally much more advanced than us, their intelligence could be the same order of magnitude greater than ours is over chimps, or many orders of magnitude greater. Such an intelligence may hardly even be commendable to us, in the way the Hubble Telescope and what it is doing is completely incomprehensible to a chimp.



posted on Jun, 7 2010 @ 05:37 PM
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What a passionate guy. Kuddo + 1

I do understand what he is trying to say. However...

We are only now starting to realize animals are way more intelligent then we give them credit for. They will never close the gap either until we stop with comparing animal intellect with ours.

Just look at Dolphins.

Dolphins have huge brains and easily learn everything we teach them what is physically possible for them to do. Regarding the fact that they understand what we want them to know but we, don't have a clue what they say to us.


Maybe they try to show us by corporation because we are simply to dumb to understand them. Animals aways have to reach human standards but there are only few who can do it in an opposite way.


If we were talking about aliens and if our understanding of evolution is correct.
Any intelligent species first had to become the best fit and any starting point would probably be similar to ours. The intelligence and the capability to construct.

Humans don't have any kind of instinctive knowledge and we have to learn everything by experience. Only the ability to understand two different things and then use this understanding to combine them and implement it is special and you probably experienced yourself that when you gain an understanding in one thing it gets utilized among everything else you know making something difficult easy. But any ofspring would not know this. But it learns it way urly in life and essentially does not have to learn how you got to that point because it already understand because it understands the workings of the new that came from the old. It starts with a pole position so to say.

Let the baby live with dogs and it will behave like a dog.

Do I make any sense at all




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