NationStates Jolt Archive

Which do you think is the smartest animal on Earth?

Besides us, it's elephants, whales, and dolphins.

"It uses the humans for his own needs."
My English teacher would have killed me for this. :( :p

The dolphin.

chimpanzee shares nearly all of our genetic code, include the code for our brain, chimps are basiclly slightly dumber versions of ourselves, they hae ways of communicating, show emotion, and live in groups with great and strict social status, with ways to show appreciation and fear.

The dolphin.

Blue Whales may actually be smarter, though. I've seen some documentaries about this.

Elephants are about equal to dolphins.

I chose the dolphins. Except for the humans, they have the highest ratio between the size of the brain and their bodysize. Chimpanzees come third.

Blue Whales may actually be smarter, though. I've seen some documentaries about this.

Elephants are about equal to dolphins. well I tend to agree the Orca / Killer Whale is much smarter than a bottle nosed dolphin, and the Humpback is very clever, as for elephants yes they are pritty smart

Blue Whales may actually be smarter, though. I've seen some documentaries about this.

Elephants are about equal to dolphins.
I should have put a "Whales" option, but I forgot about them. Sorry.

No birds on list? At least some parrots and crows seem to be very smart.

No birds on list? At least some parrots and crows seem to be very smart.
or bats

No birds on list? At least some parrots and crows seem to be very smart.

Ravens are astonishingly intelligent...

No birds on list? At least some parrots and crows seem to be very smart.
"sigh" I forgot about parrots too. But mosquitos fly, don't they? You may choose them. :D

Ravens are astonishingly intelligent... yes they are most of the crow family are take magpies for example

I chose the dolphins. Except for the humans, they have the highest ratio between the size of the brain and their bodysize. Chimpanzees come third.
The size of a brain is not that important. A mole has quite large brain but it uses a large part of it just for one or two senses.

The size of a brain is not that important. A mole has quite large brain but it uses a large part of it just for one or two senses. yes dolphins have sonar not sure what 6th sence moles have

yes dolphins have sonar not sure what 6th sence moles have
I always wondered why they say that 6th sense is something weird. We all have 6 senses: vision, hearing, tasting, touch, smelling and balance (movement?). Some say we have many more (like feeling cold/warm, pressure, but those are the ones I learned at school.

ok, for me and everyone else:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senses

I always wondered why they say that 6th sense is something weird. We all have 6 senses: vision, hearing, tasting, touch, smelling and balance (movement?). Some say we have many more (like feeling cold/warm, pressure, but those are the ones I learned at school.

ok, for me and everyone else:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senses
well balance is part of hearing

I think what you're talking about is a kind of...sub-sense. Like touch has pressure, temperature, pain, that kind of thing. Taste has sweet, sour, etc.

Is that what you're talking about?

well balance is part of hearing
huh? how? the organ is in your ear but what it has got to do with hearing?

well balance is part of hearing
That's why deaf people have poor balance.

us.

That's why deaf people have poor balance.
exactly. My deaf friend has to have some supernatural skills...

That's why deaf people have poor balance. well not totally true

well not totally true
Not totally?

Orang-Utans are certainly enormously intelligent animals, and they are peaceful - by choice.

I've seen a documentary a few days ago about a guy who trains orphaned Orang-Utans for the wild after they've been captured by poachers and held by humans in baby clothes.

There was one that he had last seen like 12 years ago, and she remembered him. When he'd said goodbye to her, he'd given her a leaf from a tree to distract her (not that it worked) - and when she saw him, she came to him, grabbed a leaf and gave it back!
Then she showed him her baby, and let him hold it.

I have never seen an animal behave that much like a human. A friendly human, one that has transcended all the violence of the world.

I vote for them.

"It uses the humans for his own needs."
My English teacher would have killed me for this. :( :p
Anyone who knows anything about mosquitos would kill you for it too. Only female mosquitos bite.

Anyone who knows anything about mosquitos would kill you for it too. Only female mosquitos bite.
hah! They don't bite, they sting :)

hah! They don't bite, they sting :)
Fair enough.

huh? how? the organ is in your ear but what it has got to do with hearing?
the inner part of the ear has some sort of special bit that measures balance

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing

Dolphins, but Chimps are close 2nd (if you exclude humans as animals)

Anyone who knows anything about mosquitos would kill you for it too. Only female mosquitos bite.
In Romanian, the word mosquito is masculine. Which makes it even stranger to say: "A mosquito (male) bit me". :D

hah! They don't bite, they sting :)
They suck. :)

hah! They don't bite, they sting :) they do neither they have like a hyperdermic needle and suck your blood

In Romanian, the word mosquito is masculine. Which makes it even stranger to say: "A mosquito (male) bit me". :D


They suck. :)
Well they have to brake the skin somehow first but indeed, they suck :)

they do neither they have like a hyperdermic needle and suck your blood

Mosquitoes suck either way you look at.
For too many where I live.

the inner part of the ear has some sort of special bit that measures balance

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing
as I said the organ which control balance is in the ear but as far as I (and Bunnyducks) know it has nothing to do with hearing. if it did, wouldn't deafs have balance problems?

Mosquitoes suck either way you look at.
For too many where I live.
From what I hear of Manitoba, unless you live there, you don't get to complain about mosquitos.

as I said the organ which control balance is in the ear but as far as I (and Bunnyducks) know it has nothing to do with hearing. if it did, wouldn't deafs have balance problems? oh well not gonna argue

I saw some pretty smart parrots once.

http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/psych26/handouts/Comparative%20psychology%20of%20brain%20size.pdf

as I said the organ which control balance is in the ear but as far as I (and Bunnyducks) know it has nothing to do with hearing. if it did, wouldn't deafs have balance problems?

also a part of the brain deals with balance it not just porblems with with the inner ear that lead to lack of balance but also certain affects on the brain

I've never seen a cricket miss an algebra problem......

The lack of a "White Mice" option disturbs and distresses me, almost as much as getting to page three without it being pointed out.

Dolphins. Apart from the great apes they're the only animals to have sex for pleasure, and they don't seem to have developed the concept of war yet.

Dolphins. Apart from the great apes they're the only animals to have sex for pleasure, and they don't seem to have developed the concept of war yet.
Yet?! "Attack of The Killer Dolphins" :eek:

Dolphins. Apart from the great apes they're the only animals to have sex for pleasure, and they don't seem to have developed the concept of war yet.


But they crap in the very water they live in. Plus, they're always getting caught in tuna nets......

also a part of the brain deals with balance it not just porblems with with the inner ear that lead to lack of balance but also certain affects on the brain
of course, just like you need more than eyes to see anything. Same with every sense.

But they crap in the very water they live in. Plus, they're always getting caught in tuna nets......
They do have a lot of water though.
Better a tuna net than a major warzone.

Plus, they're always getting caught in tuna nets......

Dolphin meat is the tastiest treat of the sea, man.

Dolphin meat is the tastiest treat of the sea, man. you just proved humans are not smart

you just proved humans are not smart

It's a sealab 2021 reference. A joke (refer to your dictionary).

you just proved humans are not smart


So long and thanks for all the fish......

you just proved humans are not smart
It needed proving?

Cats! It clearly has to be cats! :D
They're very good at educating their "keepers" to do exactly what they want :D

Cats! It clearly has to be cats! :D
They're very good at educating their "keepers" to do exactly what they want :D
Agreed. Cats are manipulative little bastards, yet they do it in such a way as to ensure that you still love them afterwards.

This is a poll of (mostly) humans, and yet dolphins are winning? Hmmm...

All of the great apes.

This is a poll of (mostly) humans, and yet dolphins are winning? Hmmm...
I think the "Men are animals...right?" option was a jab at males, not an entry for human beings.

Besides, even though humans are animals technically, who's to say there aren't animals smarter than us on this planet? Just because we're the only ones that use many complex verbal languages doesn't mean we're smarter than, say, dolphins, IMO.

All of the great apes. well humans are related to great apes eerm :p

So long and thanks for all the fish...... can I have 42 ?

Mice
Dolphins
Humans

There was a post about a millionaire marrying a dolphin recently.. If that don't prove dolphins are smarter then something.. yes..

There was a post about a millionaire marrying a dolphin recently.. If that don't prove dolphins are smarter then something.. yes..
Pretty soon the millionaire will be found drowned... And the dolphin swims away to sunset with her true love and 100 000 000$

Just proves us humans think we are so self important and when we are not :eek:

my dad taught a dog we use to have how to say budweisier. Guess which animal was smarter there.

my dad taught a dog we use to have how to say budweisier. Guess which animal was smarter there.
......... ummmm:confused:

The Blozwoggler. In fact, it's so clever, it's managed to avoid detection by humans untill... around eight seconds ago. There goes its party piece.

my dad taught a dog we use to have how to say budweisier. Guess which animal was smarter there. well he did not teach you to spell

taught a dog we 'used' to have use has a d in it in that context

well he did not teach you to spell

taught a dog we 'used' to have use has a d in it in that context
Budweiser is also wrong, as well as there being no capitalization at all, but come on, is this really the place for pedantry?

Sloths...

"Sloths move only when necessary and then very slowly"

"They are particularly partial to nesting in the crowns of palm trees where they can camouflage as a coconut" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth)

Budweiser is also wrong, as well as there being no capitalization at all, but come on, is this really the place for pedantry? was only kidding did not mean to offend ;)

I think the "Men are animals...right?" option was a jab at males, not an entry for human beings.
Exactly. Although I think many have honestly voted for us, the men. :p

can I have 42 ?
Only if you tell me the question. ;)

Exactly. Although I think many have honestly voted for us, the men. :p


Only if you tell me the question. ;) what is the meaning of life ?

what is the meaning of life ?
The 42 is yours.

chimpanzee shares nearly all of our genetic code, include the code for our brain, chimps are basiclly slightly dumber versions of ourselves, they hae ways of communicating, show emotion, and live in groups with great and strict social status, with ways to show appreciation and fear.


Ahhh that's why Bush is referred to as a chimp...makes even more sense now :)

Budweiser is also wrong, as well as there being no capitalization at all, but come on, is this really the place for pedantry?
You don't have to look at your post count to know you're new here.. Not only is this the place for pedantry it's a safe haven for trolls, fanatics and those reasonable people..

It seems that orkas (killer whales) have a largest brain for their body than even dolphins, and they are sophisticated in several ways we cannot comprehend yet. They are very sociable with each other, though not with humans (which is a clear sign of intelligence), and they are the top of the food chain as well...Vote goes there.

and here come the hitchhikers quotes

Nope, the question is "What is 9 times 6?"

The 42 is mine.

Nearly 2 pages and no mention of Octopus (Octopus) vulgaris or any other Cephalopds?

(At least no one has mentioned that stupid UL about dolphins and humans being the only animals that have sex for pleasure! :mad:)

(At least no one has mentioned that stupid UL about dolphins and humans being the only animals that have sex for pleasure! :mad:)
No one? Really?

Dolphins. Apart from the great apes they're the only animals to have sex for pleasure, *snip*

chimpanzee shares nearly all of our genetic code, include the code for our brain, chimps are basiclly slightly dumber versions of ourselves, they hae ways of communicating, show emotion, and live in groups with great and strict social status, with ways to show appreciation and fear.

so do dogs though ¬_¬

The dolphin is winning at last hooray :)

I'd go with the elephant, whale and dolphin.

voted for elephant

squid/octi - birds - humans - sharks

I think the order is something like this:

Czardas (The animality of this entry is debated, as Czardas is technically a higher god/deity/Overlord, but it is included for simplicity's sake anyway. And ego boosting)
Whales
Some birds (crows, ravens, parrots etc.)
Dolphins
Orangutangs
Other apes
Elephants
Cats
Humans
Dogs
Pigs
[and so on and so forth]

Nope, the question is "What is 9 times 6?"

The 42 is mine.
Wrong. The question is "What is 6 times 9?"

I win 42. ;)

Wrong. The question is "What is 6 times 9?"

I win 42. ;)
Technically, it's "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?", but it's just a matter of how the words are arranged. 42 is still mine, and mice are still the smartest animals on Earth.

Dolphins have been known to reconize drowning people and rescue them. they also seem to beable to cure Autism (sp?)

Octopi can learn by watching others.

Dolphins have been known to reconize drowning people and rescue them. they also seem to beable to cure Autism (sp?)

Octopi can learn by watching others.

Octopuses is the correct plural, as the root is Greek not Latin. (Although octopi is gaining acceptance in some dictionaries, through misuse. Octopodes is also recognised as acceptable, but pedantic.)

Ivia, I weep for the stupidity shown on these boards. (And be glad I weep. The other possibility involves shotguns, police, and the courts.)

Octopuses is the correct plural, as the root is Greek not Latin. (Although octopi is gaining acceptance in some dictionaries, through misuse. Octopodes is also recognised as acceptable, but pedantic.)

Ivia, I weep for the stupidity shown on these boards. (And be glad I weep. The other possibility involves shotguns, police, and the courts.)
Octopi sounds yummy though..

Octopuses is the correct plural, as the root is Greek not Latin. (Although octopi is gaining acceptance in some dictionaries, through misuse. Octopodes is also recognised as acceptable, but pedantic.)

Ivia, I weep for the stupidity shown on these boards. (And be glad I weep. The other possibility involves shotguns, police, and the courts.)thought Octopi was singular, and Octopus was plural... what ever... Tako!

Dolphins. Apart from the great apes they're the only animals to have sex for pleasure, and they don't seem to have developed the concept of war yet.

Not quite.

There is an urban legend that dolphins, bonobos, and humans are the only animals that have sex for pleasure; in actual fact, what distinguishes these three species from other animals is that they also have heterosexual sex when the female is not at a point in her gestation cycle suitable for successful impregnation [2] (http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/pleasure.htm).

http://www.answers.com/topic/sexual-intercourse

Octopi sounds yummy though..
Octopussies is even better. :p

id say man, its a source of pride for the land of free misesians as our national animal

thought Octopi was singular, and Octopus was plural... what ever... Tako!

Nope. Octopus - octopuses.

Although it is often supposed that octopi is the 'correct' plural of octopus, and it has been in use for longer than the usual Anglicized plural octopuses, it in fact originates as an error. Octopus is not a simple Latin word of the second declension, but a Latinized form of the Greek word oktopous, and its 'correct' plural would logically be octopodes.

(Back atcha - ika! ;) )

And yes, Zero Six Three, octopus is yummy.

I cant believe more people think dolphins are smarter then humans....are we that pathetic compared to them?!

Sure us males may not have like 3 feet penises, and can't ejaculate at like 50 miles per hour.....

wait a minute...are the women of NS only voting for dolphins? -.-

nearly all little furry cratures with big sharp teeth are a whole lot 'smarter' as well as uniquely individualistic as indvidual beings then most humans give them credit for. this kind of question really need a 'none of the above' or 'other' option.

i for one, would have chosen ailurus fulgens (red panda) had that been an option.

primates are of course intelligent, and as humans we are indeed numbered among them.

i'm not saying cats, foxes, coyotes, et.c, are neccessarily smart-ER then we are, although they're certainly less out of balance with their environment. whether they would remain so were they to possess the same drive to be creative which has led us to so surround ourselves with artifacts that we've forgoten, many of us, by and large, our connectedness with everything else, but i do find it interesting to speculate.

as for red panda's, you may not consider nonaggressiveness and intelligence factor, and perhapse this is not an optimal context in which to put forth the basis of my contention that it is. well at any rate the intresting thing i find about them, aside from how they look, is that while the've got the teeth and stomic to be primarily meat eaters, they are instead almost exclusively vegitarians. the name "panda" in fact meaning bamboo eater, which like the giant panda, and the only thing the two have in common, they do subsist primarily on bamboo leaves.

the're interesting in other ways as well. even to the point of possessing opposable thumbs, even an extra kind of half thumb on the other side of their hands.

=^^=
.../\...

why isn't the platypus an option? don't let it's rugged looks fool you.

From what I hear of Manitoba, unless you live there, you don't get to complain about mosquitos.
I think the people up in northern Sweden has the right as well. The people up there are outnumbered by at least several hundreds of thousands of mosquitos per human. Terrifying when it's a good year for 'em...

The smartest animal is the apple. Apples are so incredible lever that they have ooled humans to believe they aren't alive at all, and then they attack!

poor old dolphin

Well, I'm not sure what 'smartest' means, I don't think there's any reasonable objective definition of intelligence. But I do know that the New Caledonian crow, apart from humans, appears to be the animal most able to work with strange and new materials it likely has never seen before (say wire) to solve a problem (like getting some meat out of a tall, narrow tube--there's actually a video online of Betty, the New Caledonia crow, solving such a problem... aparently it's a solution even chimps would have trouble devising).

the're interesting in other ways as well. even to the point of possessing opposable thumbs, even an extra kind of half thumb on the other side of their hands.
Koalas have two opposable thumbs. Though I take your point: who knows what the smartest animal is? Terry Pratchett contends that it's the camel (they do very advanced mathematics in their heads), but they don't appear smart because they are a bit like Benjamin from Animal Farm.

Ants!! ...they're goin to take over the world! seriously They are the only animal (ok, technically insects I know) that work together as a team and dont plot to destroy each other...... kinda :confused: We're all doomed anyway.... so whats it matter :eek:

in the classic way, I should say dolphines...
in the more realistic way, not humans because they are so inteligent that they're about to destroy the world (changes in the weather anyone?)
so that'll leave me with... the DOLPINES, so cute

Draw between humans and dolphins

No birds on list? At least some parrots and crows seem to be very smart.

The Blue Macaw (a parrot) has been able to perform certain tasks at the level of a 5 year old. They not only understand what green is - they can also categorize green as a color. The same goes for shapes. I watched a special on them and I was amazed at their intelligence.

Draw between humans and dolphins
Nope. The dolphins lead again. What an interesting race, ladies and gentlemen! :D

Maybe the Pelican. The Pelican!

I have never seen any of the others listed caught in tuna Nets, Dolphins smart, why they can bounce and jump and click and place mines on submarines... duh if they where that smart they wouldn't have volounteered in the first place.

Cats are smart enough to lull you into a false sense of security and control you with their Mind control purrs.

as for man well the.... (purrrrrr)
will post again soon kitty wants out and a pot of cream.

Nope. The dolphins lead again. What an interesting race, ladies and gentlemen! :D hooray ;)

The Blue Macaw (a parrot) has been able to perform certain tasks at the level of a 5 year old. They not only understand what green is - they can also categorize green as a color. The same goes for shapes. I watched a special on them and I was amazed at their intelligence.
google for a parrot named Alex. As far as I know that's the most "educated" parrot in the world. But as few have mentioned, quite many scientist believe that crows (corvi....something)

could interest someone: Crow as Clever as Great Apes:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1209_041209_crows_apes.html


p.s. ah, corvids

well he did not teach you to spell

taught a dog we 'used' to have use has a d in it in that context
I must apologize, spelling has never been a strong point of mine. That and that was writen early in the morning.

sorry guys

I must apologize, spelling has never been a strong point of mine. That and that was writen early in the morning.

sorry guys not a problem, I was only kidding ;)