Homestar Runner Wiki Forum :: View topic - Man is an animal too, my boy!

They can fly upside down, just not well (or for very long).

upside down, just not well (or for very long).

just not well (or for very long).

In other words, we use tools. But we are not the sole tool-using species.

And we have not overcome every achievment of the non-human world with our tools.

Look at hummigbirds. What the human tool that most closely approximates a hummingbird? A helicopter, right? Well, both of them can fly fowards, left, right, and backwards. But can a helicopter fly upside-down?

I think all this is rather aside from the point, really. Sure, using tools, we can do pretty much everything better than animals can. But I don't think that it has to do with any sort of magical property of humanity. I think the only thing keeping other species from developing the same traits is that they haven't had enough time and we're already dominant. As a species, we just lucked out, really.

- Kef

I think the only thing keeping other species from developing the same traits is that they haven't had enough time and we're already dominant.

Animals have been around just as long...

I don't think there's really any room for other intelligent life to develop except maybe some places of South America or Africa.

Author:	Rusty [ Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:27 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
StrongRad wrote: They can fly upside down, just not well (or for very long). StrongRad wrote: upside down, just not well (or for very long). StrongRad wrote: upside down, just not well (or for very long). StrongRad wrote: just not well (or for very long).

Author:	StrongRad [ Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:37 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
Thank you for the spam, Rusty. Get back to work.

Author:	Didymus [ Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:49 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
LordQuackingstick wrote: In other words, we use tools. But we are not the sole tool-using species. Here's the flaw: you're essentially saying that Michael Jordan is not a great b-baller because any old redneck can chuck a round thing at a hoop (whether he can score consistently - or even understands the basic concept of basketball - is entirely beside the point). You're essentially taking the entire human race, with all of its mechanical, technological, medical, and other scientific, artistic, and literary achievements, and lumping it into the same category as a monkey using a twig to pull termites out a log. While by certain definitions, the two can be compared (assuming we concede you the right to define the terms); nevertheless, it is very clear that the human accomplishments pretty much leave the others in the dust. Quote: And we have not overcome every achievment of the non-human world with our tools. Most of the ones that actually make a hill of beans difference, we have. Quote: Look at hummigbirds. What the human tool that most closely approximates a hummingbird? A helicopter, right? Well, both of them can fly fowards, left, right, and backwards. But can a helicopter fly upside-down? Even if I were to concede that a hummingbird's unique flying ability has not been technologically duplicated - YET! - it's only one thing. If we take the sum of human accomplishment and compare it to hummingbird accomplishment, we're right back to the place we were with the monkey's termite twig: pretty much leaving them in the dust. Going back to my sports analogy, say you have a whole bunch of athletes who are all really good at one particular sport or another. The only thing is, while they are really good at one sport, they don't do so great at the others. But then, along comes one athlete who is absolutely GREAT at almost every sport. And even if once in a great while, he gets beaten by one of the other athletes in their specialty (and even the losses are by narrow margins), he ends up winning the vast majority of the time, and usually comes in way out in front. And overall, he is just all around a great athlete at every sport he tries. Wouldn't that in and of itself prove that he is a superior athlete? Here we have human beings who pretty much excel at everything - what we can't accomplish through physical ability, we can by technology. And we're being stacked up against animals who, for the most part, rely almost entirely on limited natural talents. Once in a while, one of them can do something we can't duplicate (YET!), but for the most part, we come in way out in the front. Yet when you take those animals and look at their total capabilities, overall, they just don't match up.

Author:	furrykef [ Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:58 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
I think all this is rather aside from the point, really. Sure, using tools, we can do pretty much everything better than animals can. But I don't think that it has to do with any sort of magical property of humanity. I think the only thing keeping other species from developing the same traits is that they haven't had enough time and we're already dominant. As a species, we just lucked out, really. - Kef

Author:	StrongRad [ Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:26 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
furrykef wrote: I think all this is rather aside from the point, really. Sure, using tools, we can do pretty much everything better than animals can. But I don't think that it has to do with any sort of magical property of humanity. I think the only thing keeping other species from developing the same traits is that they haven't had enough time and we're already dominant. As a species, we just lucked out, really. - Kef I've heard many a sports announcer say "sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good." Yay humanity!

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Author:	Mikes! [ Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:12 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
I don't understand the big deal behind this debate. Certainly, it is a gross show of arrogance to expect that humans are greatest animals ever because of some interesting adaptations. But the same token, accepting that humans are worthless because we're just as much of an integral part of nature as protozoa just sullies and insults the eons of change and diversity that the existence of organisms have been through. Humans are unique and special in the fact that we have art and complex social structures in the way that amoebas are unique and special in that they only are one cell and can make a whole 'nother individual amoeba just by themselves.

Author:	bwave [ Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:29 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
furrykef wrote: I think the only thing keeping other species from developing the same traits is that they haven't had enough time and we're already dominant. Animals have been around just as long... I think that our progress is attributed to communication. It might've taken someone 20 years to create and fine-tune all the rules for texas holdem. But it only takes 5 minutes to explain it to someone else. Because of our good ablity to explain this to others, we can fit hundreds of lifetimes worth of work into our intellect. As didy mentioned months ago, if a dog comes up with some brilliant idea, it dies with that information.

Author:	furrykef [ Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:10 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
bwave wrote: Animals have been around just as long... Well, somebody's gotta be the first sentient species. And that species has pretty much taken over the earth by now, in a really short period in evolutionary terms. I don't think there's really any room for other intelligent life to develop except maybe some places of South America or Africa.

Author:	Biscuithead [ Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:28 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
furrykef wrote: I don't think there's really any room for other intelligent life to develop except maybe some places of South America or Africa. What about Neanderthals? Scientists believe these guys were intelligent enough to build colonies, use tools and even have primitive languages. I myself draw a distinct line between humans and other animals (basically because I believe God set us above them), but I don't know where Neanderthals fit in to the picture.

Author:	furrykef [ Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:00 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Man is an animal too, my boy!
Well, the Neanderthals either died out or were absorbed into our species. If it was the former, it could easily be due to influence from our species. If true, this would strengthen my point that it's hard for other species to reach sentience since we're already here. If homo sapiens didn't exist, it's quite possible that the Neanderthals would have come in our position, and we would be talking about the fate of those Cro-Magnon people instead.

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