"t" == trakar  <trakar@comcast.net> writes:

t> On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 22:11:08 -0400, "Tony Sivori"
t> <TonySivori@yahoo.com> wrote:

You may be right, but with our sample of one solar system, we can
only speculate. On your side of the argument, is that we are the
only technological species on this planet. On the other hand,
intelligence may be a survival trait that tends to favor Darwin's
laws.

t> Isn't there an inherent internal contradiction here? If
t> intelligence was the end-all survival trait, shouldn't we see more
t> than one species displaying it here?

Which we do.  A good argument can be made for both chimps and dolphins
being intelligent.  I'm less sure about bonobos and the other great
apes (or other cetaceans for that matter).

t> Additionally, intelligence does not necessarily equate to
t> technologically capable. intelligence coupled to technological
t> capability may be the extreme rarity.

This is an important distinction, all too often glossed over in this
newsgroup.  The inhabitants of ancient Rome were clearly intelligent,
but they did not have a technological civilization capable of
interstellar communication.

-- 
Lt. Lazio, HTML police   | e-mail: jlazio@patriot.net
No means no, stop rape.  | http://patriot.net/%7Ejlazio/
sci.astro FAQ at http://sciastro.astronomy.net/sci.astro.html