Are Animals Smart??

Defining intelligence and smartness is not easy. Is it ability for abstract thought: communication, reasoning, or problem solving? It's a troubling concept for humans because we know we have it but we're not so sure what, exactly it is. And traditionally, humans have considered their intelligence to be superior to that of the rest of earth's inhabitants.  Human cognitive abilities are remarkable. Our mental agility has allowed us to adapt to a vast range of environments, and even to adapt our environments to suit ourselves. We've been clever enough to eradicate most of our competitors and to spread over most of the earth .Animals, it has long been thought, have a degree of intelligence but certainly nothing that could compare to humanity's proclivity for innovation and emotional understanding. Animals are the multi-cellular organisms that have well-defined shape and usually limited growth, can move voluntarily, actively acquire food for survival and have sensory and nervous system that allow them to respond to stimuli. Animals have several characteristics that set them apart from other living things.

Some animals have certain sets of skills and smarts that are mind-boggling. Recently, however, a series of observations have challenged this idea. Some of the creatures intelligent and smart like humans found by observations are pointed below:

·        Apes: Well, apes are creatures which show same kind of affinity to human beings. There has been extensive and well-documented research that has found evidence of some key elements of high intelligence in ape species including self awareness, emotional understanding, problem solving and reasoning, culture, and language.

·        Elephants: Another animal that has, upon closer examination, shown signs of higher intelligence is the elephant. Recent research, however, revealed that elephants a capable of working together to solve problems. 

·        Crows: Crows exhibit high-level of intelligence just like humans. These clever birds have been observed crafting and using specific and specialized tools to gather food. However, their amazing capacity for fast adaptation and ability to live in cities show they could be a lot more than they are today. And who knows, one day they might top us.

·        Dolphin: Dolphins are among the most intelligent animals. They are always friendly and take delight in playing with people. Dolphins have a cerebral cortex which is about 40% larger a human being's. Their cortex is also stratified in much the same way as a human. Because of their lovely appearance and high intelligence, many people began to keep them in a zoo or at sea world.

·        Dogs: Dogs have been trained to guard/protect, herd, hunt, search/rescue, assist (e.g. guide dogs for the blind) and perform circus tricks, obedience or agility classes. This makes them smart as well.

In my opinion, although animals are smart, intelligence, creative and emotional like humans, the problem is they can’t express their feeling. In this sense, we can’t call them dull or unfeeling. We humans have the ability to learn, to reason and solve problems. We're self-aware, and we're also conscious of the presence, thoughts and feelings of others. We make tools and practice the art of deception. We're creative. We think abstractly. We have language and use it to express complex ideas. All of these are arguably signs of intelligence. Thus, one of the most obvious things that prove that humans are smarter than animals is the things that we have invented nothing more than that.