Convergence or divergence? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, September 12, 2013, 21:11 (4090 days ago) @ dhw


> dhw; So ants use information intelligently, but they are not intelligent. You have no idea how ants can make decisions and plan and implement strategies, but they are not intelligent. They are just wonderful. And smart. But smart does not mean intelligent.-Their built in responses are guided by existing intelligence in their DNA
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> dhw: But they do have the information which gives them the ability to solve problems, plan, adapt, communicate, invent etc. (not a bad definition of intelligence, is it?). -Automatically. Let me admit that I do not understand how instinct works, and neither does anyone else. When a newborn foal is born, it gets up on its feet and suckles within an hour. It can barely see but it finds a teat. I have no idea how DNA tells it to do that. Ants work at that same level. They are intelligently programmed. Nothing more.