Humans

Epic Meepo · December 09, 2008, 04:10:17 PM

Quote from: limetomHuman's best asset is language.

Inasmuch as only humans 'think' in words, yes. And thinking in words allows us to develop languages more complicated than those of other animals.

But humans are not the only species with a language. Honey bees, for example, can communicate abstract flight directions to one another using a series of complex gestures. A honey bee seeing the gestures understands that they represent a specific flight path, and can follow that flight path to a source of pollen even if it has never been there before without requiring further help from the communicating bee.

Epic Meepo · December 09, 2008, 04:15:04 PM

Quote from: LlumJust want to note that Birds are bipeds (who descended from Theropods). Crazy how the dominant species tends to stand on 2 feet eh?

Good point. I should have said that humans are the only bipeds who rely on their legs as their primary form of locomotion.

But you are correct: birds are bipeds just like us. And hey, aren't birds the ones that live longer than us? Damn birds. Who do they think they are, showing up us humans like that?

Elemental_Elf · December 09, 2008, 04:35:02 PM

Quote from: Llum
Quote from: Elemental_ElfStick enough monkeys in a room and they'll invent Shakespeare.

Not really. The internet is anonymity to the extreme. People are more malicious and act in ways they wouldn't otherwise simply because no one will know it's them. So if the Monkeys were using the internet, they'd prolly just throw digital poo at each other. However if they were stuck in an IRL room together, they would invent Shakespearean quality prose.

As for the Birds, once again, 65 million years of awesome evolution trumps our rat ancestors :P

Nomadic · December 09, 2008, 05:03:57 PM

Quote from: Elemental_ElfAs for the Birds, once again, 65 million years of awesome evolution trumps our rat ancestors :P

Say that to my 12 gauge loaded with birdshot :P

Kindling · December 09, 2008, 05:33:31 PM

Going back to the thing about long-distance running, I remember being blown away a few years back by a documentary I saw on the only tribe in the world still to use endurance hunting.

These dudes basically chased this caribou or some similar animal across the semi-desert until it collapsed from exhaustion. The reasons it gave for the human superiority over distance is that we can sweat from more of our body than most other animals, and we have hands to carry containers of water with us, so we can keep the fluids in our system balanced while we run.

Steerpike · December 09, 2008, 05:42:35 PM

[blockquote=Epic Meepo]Good point. I should have said that humans are the only bipeds who rely on their legs as their primary form of locomotion.[/blockquote] Aren't kangaroos predominantly bipedal? And ostriches are flightless and so are entirely bipedal in terms of locomotion. Same goes for flamingos and penguins, though the latter admittedly does swim quite a bit.

According to wikipedia apparently cockroaches can also move bipedally and regularly do at surprising speeds.

Elemental_Elf · December 09, 2008, 05:42:38 PM

I forgot about the fact that we can sweat! that's huge.

SDragon · December 09, 2008, 05:46:58 PM

Yeah, we don't need to use our tongues for it, either.

Elemental_Elf · December 09, 2008, 05:53:13 PM

I think the fact that we have a lack of over all body hair is another asset we have over other mammals. Its tied in with the fact that we can sweat compared to other animals.

Llum · December 09, 2008, 10:43:42 PM

I'm somewhat surprised no one has mentioned opposable thumbs yet, they're really handy in manipulating stuff.

Sure some other animals have em too, but combined with our abstract reasoning they really helped us out. Especially in the using pointy sticks to kill stuff department.

Elemental_Elf · December 10, 2008, 12:01:33 AM

Quote from: LlumI'm somewhat surprised no one has mentioned opposable thumbs yet, they're really handy in manipulating stuff.

Sure some other animals have em too, but combined with our abstract reasoning they really helped us out. Especially in the using pointy sticks to kill stuff department.

I assumed that one was a given. :)

SDragon · December 10, 2008, 01:06:26 AM

I'm convinced there were only a few really major advancements in the development of weapons-- in fact, I can only think of three. The first is the smash-y thing; sticks, bones, rocks, that sort of thing. Y'know, things that go smash. The second was the stabby-slashy thing. This is where knives, swords, spears (of all sorts), etc. come in. The third was the boomy thing. This is pretty much any kind of explosive. From there, it was just a matter of how to use these different things; guns are simply using a boomy thing to make a stabby-slashy thing go over there, rocket launchers are boomy things that make other boomy things go over [/i]there[/i], and so on and so forth.

I think our bipedal design might help us in acquiring fruits that grow higher then five feet. Instead of having to scurry up a tree, all we need to do is reach. I imagine it also helps with intimidation displays.

Nomadic · December 10, 2008, 01:06:34 AM

Quote from: Elemental_ElfI think the fact that we have a lack of over all body hair is another asset we have over other mammals. Its tied in with the fact that we can sweat compared to other animals.

Note that I am not disagreeing, just using this as a springboard. Humans actually have more hair then the nearest relative animal (chimps). The difference is that our hair is much finer and shorter than chimps (so we look less hairy even though we aren't). So it's more of an issue of the fact that while we have more hair, our hair doesn't restrict our ability to sweat like it would if we had chimp hair.

On another note I have never seen extensive training used in the animal kingdom. Please direct me to the proper resources if I am wrong but you don't see many animals training themselves both mentally and physically to the point where they go beyond their base abilities. Examples here being our self conditioning via things such as boot camp and martial arts training in order to more efficiently control our bodies. Likewise you have things like bodybuilders and gymnasts that can pull off incredible feats of strength and agility. On the agility note too, you don't see many animals (there are a few though) that have the coordination to do something like the uneven bars.

Elemental_Elf · December 10, 2008, 01:09:06 AM

Quote from: NomadicNote that I am not disagreeing, just using this as a springboard. Humans actually have more hair then the nearest relative animal (chimps). The difference is that our hair is much finer and shorter than chimps (so we look less hairy even though we aren't). So it's more of an issue of the fact that while we have more hair, our hair doesn't restrict our ability to sweat like it would if we had chimp hair.

Good catch!

SDragon · December 10, 2008, 01:22:20 AM

Quote from: NomadicOn another note I have never seen extensive training used in the animal kingdom. Please direct me to the proper resources if I am wrong but you don't see many animals training themselves both mentally and physically to the point where they go beyond their base abilities. Examples here being our self conditioning via things such as boot camp and martial arts training in order to more efficiently control our bodies. Likewise you have things like bodybuilders and gymnasts that can pull off incredible feats of strength and agility. On the agility note too, you don't see many animals (there are a few though) that have the coordination to do something like the uneven bars.

They do. The first difference is that they don't do it with the conscious intent of improvement, and the second difference is that their training is more practice-oriented. They don't use the push-up in any survival maneuver, so they don't use it in their training. Don't believe me? Watch kittens "play". Sneaking, pouncing, batting around, biting... that's training hunting skills.

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