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Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by twelve40 on Friday May 26, 2023 @03:11PM (#36088405)
> So orcas are the "dumb" ones because some eat fish?

that's a pretty twisted and incorrect reading of what i said, they don't have human level of intelligence because they all don't do anything else singificant their whole entire lives but hunt fish, not because they eat fish.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bmitc on Friday May 26, 2023 @03:19PM (#36088475)
You didn't respond to my other questions. What are they supposed to do and eat, then? What about what you said makes them unintelligent?
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by twelve40 on Friday May 26, 2023 @03:26PM (#36088540)
> What are they supposed to eat

I answered that unlike what you are trying to accuse me of, I think there is nothing wrong with eating fish, the problem is inability to do anything else of significance but eat fish, talking about the dietary preferences is a diversion, so can we put that to rest already?

> What about what you said makes them unintelligent?

Can you please point me to cultural, scientific, technological, architectural, philosophical achievements of orcas that are typically associated with human-level intellect?

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by flangola7 on Friday May 26, 2023 @03:51PM (#36088774)
Can you just engage in good faith please? Comments like this degrade the overall community and conversation.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by pie420 on Friday May 26, 2023 @08:01PM (#36090848)
Don't engage with trolls.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by lacrosse_tannin on Friday May 26, 2023 @07:40PM (#36090711)
Not wrecking the planet
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bmitc on Friday May 26, 2023 @11:51PM (#36091937)
I edited my comment as a reply to this one. This reply of yours was flagged and dead earlier.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by ignoramous on Friday May 26, 2023 @04:29PM (#36089149)
> Orcas live their lives by eating responsibly and healthily, stay with their families, play, communicate, and live all without waging war. We humans live our lives slaved to our technology and socioeconomic systems with vast amounts of self-induced mental and physical health problems while trying to obtain some misplaced notion of permanence in this universe through AI or space travel, all while completely destroying the environment for ourselves and every other species. Humans are also some of the most if not the most violent species to ever exist. Which is more intelligent?

All moot if we are in The Matrix already? If not, The Matrix is the end game, anyway? I wouldn't mind much as long as chicken tastes better than fish.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bnlxbnlx on Friday May 26, 2023 @05:28PM (#36089717)
Wow, i wasn't aware that there might be a connection between menopause and matriarchal societies—super fascinating! Do you have any sources you can recommend that offer more information on this?

Also i wasn't aware how much culture and collaboration orcas apparently have, thank you for sharing all that!

Edit: also, curious if you are aware of the work of marija gimbutas and heide göttner-abendroth on neolithic pre-patriarchal Europe (which seems to have been peaceful for thousands of years)?

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bmitc on Friday May 26, 2023 @09:20PM (#36091212)
Two good books are

* Deep Thinkers: Inside the Minds of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises by Janet Mann

* The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins by Hal Whitehead and Luke Rendell

Whales in general are very fascinating in their social and emotional intelligences. Orcas just take their raw intelligence to a new level.

Also, I am not aware of that work. So thank you! I have been meaning to read Against the Grain by James C. Scott. He mentions that early agrian societies had less leisure time and were less healthy than their hunter gatherer counterparts.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by myshpa on Saturday May 27, 2023 @01:34AM (#36092329)
> He mentions that early agrian societies had less leisure time and were less healthy than their hunter gatherer counterparts.

This is also described in high detail in "The Dawn of Everything" by another anarchist David Graeber. Highly recommend.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bmitc on Saturday May 27, 2023 @01:50AM (#36092394)
Thanks for the reference! I am familiar with David Graeber from Dept, so thanks for bringing this other book of his to my attention.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bnlxbnlx on Saturday May 27, 2023 @04:12AM (#36092952)
Thank you for the references, definitely going to look deeper into this.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by cutemonster on Friday May 26, 2023 @06:16PM (#36090150)
Orcas are amazing, I still see nothing in what you wrote that indicates they'd be brighter that say 5 to 7 years old kids. Kids have culture too, use tools etc.

Evolution doesn't generally add features that aren't needed. Orcas don't have arms, don't build skyscrapers or fly to the moon. There's no need to be that bright.

But if you want to believe that they could, if they just had had arms, well why not (although I dissent).

> Humans are also some of the most if not the most violent species to ever exist. Which is more intelligent?

Those are two different dimensions. Being intelligent doesn't mean you're kind hearted or less violent. Although it can indeed be simpler to understand others (which you can use in evil ways).

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by throwway120385 on Friday May 26, 2023 @07:14PM (#36090541)
Who says that anything humans do is a sign of intelligence? We're assuming quite a lot about the importance of skyscrapers or of going to the moon, and we're also assuming very little about what it takes to be an Orca.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bmitc on Friday May 26, 2023 @09:03PM (#36091131)
> I still see nothing in what you wrote that indicates they'd be brighter that say 5 to 7 years old kids. Kids have culture too, use tools etc.

I don't really see how you can claim that. What don't you see?

But, you also sort of prove my point as well. An 8 year old is as intelligent as an adult human. It isn't as knowledgeable or socially developed but the brain is basically 95% complete in its growth by 8 years old or so.

Part of the mistake is confusing knowledge or societal integration with intelligence.

> Evolution doesn't generally add features that aren't needed. Orcas don't have arms, don't build skyscrapers or fly to the moon. There's no need to be that bright.

But orcas do require intelligence. Their prey are dolphins, tuna, blue whales, humpback whales, beluga whales, seals, rays, salmon, herring, sharks, etc. Their prey are fast and strong and several of them (i.e., the mammals) have excellent hearing, sight, and intelligence of their own. They need their intelligence to cooperate in their hunting and to teach the learned techniques. And again, there are several indications and observations that their social and emotional intelligence is greater than humans. Orcas are currently considered a single species and thus that single species and brain provides for a huge variance in prey and living environments.

Ancient human brains and intelligence are identical to modern human brains and intelligence, and they had no need or capability for skyscrapers or going to the moon. Because again, technological development doesn't necessarily relate to intelligence. Technological development of humans is a bit of evolutionary runaway process because of our dexterity and brain combination. But just because we have a lot of technology doesn't mean we are the most intelligent. It is quite clear that our technogical development exceeds our social and emotional intelligence's ability to keep up.

> Those are two different dimensions. Being intelligent doesn't mean you're kind hearted or less violent.

It does indeed relate to social and emotional intelligence. Not everything is about bits and atoms.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by cutemonster on Saturday May 27, 2023 @04:00AM (#36092891)
No, what are you doing? This is what I wrote:

> > I still see nothing in what you wrote that indicates they'd be brighter that say 5 to 7 years old kid

You then:

> sort of prove my point as well. An 8 year old is as intelligent as an adult

But I said not more than 5-7. (Could be 3-5 what do I know.)

which is not the same as 8.

And kids are kids, at 8 your brain is far from finished. (Maybe volume wise 95% but not IQ wise. I found 90% at age 5, volume/weight wise in a quick websearch). IQ wise: Not until a bit past 20 years.

(Where are you getting your ideas from?)

> Ancient human brains and intelligence are identical to modern human brains and intelligence

No.

You might have a link to some book that says otherwise, if so I would look at the authors as slightly dumb related to that.

> They need their intelligence to cooperate in their hunting

Dogs and hyenas do too.

I'm unlikely to reply any further. Btw, just one thing: when I was a teenager I had completely wildly crazy ideas about animals and their abilities, ... And, maybe in a way, I know where you're coming from. Have a nice day

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bmitc on Saturday May 27, 2023 @12:25PM (#36095959)
> > Ancient human brains and intelligence are identical to modern human brains and intelligence

> No.

> You might have a link to some book that says otherwise, if so I would look at the authors as slightly dumb related to that.

When I said ancient himans I meant early homo sapiens. I have looked into this before and while the brain has evolved over the time of homo sapiens, it is very much the same core brain. And from what I can tell from my research, the homo sapiens brain has been relatively unchanged since about 100,000 - 200,000 years ago, well before any writing or technological developments. Again, knowledge and technology are not requirements for intelligence.

For your kid argument, you would have to argue that the last 5-10% of brain development accounts for the majority of human intelligence. I think that's a tough hill to climb.

> I'm unlikely to reply any further. Btw, just one thing: when I was a teenager I had completely wildly crazy ideas about animals and their abilities, ... And, maybe in a way, I know where you're coming from. Have a nice day

That's fine, but it's also a rather immature and childish way to have a discussion.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by rubicon33 on Friday May 26, 2023 @09:16PM (#36091197)
> menopause, an evolutionary adaptation that helps allow their matriarchical society to maintain its social structure and health.

I've never hard of this before! Can you explain more?

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by bmitc on Saturday May 27, 2023 @12:35PM (#36096047)
It is likely that I am overreaching my knowledge here on that fact or over simplifying from what I have read, and my statement is a little vague. From what I can tell, even the reason for menopause in humans seems highly debated. I did some more searching yesterday, and it does seem to be contentious in terms of why is it individually beneficial for older women to end fertility if concerned about gene survival and propogation. So it's a bit of speculation on my part.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by rubicon33 on Saturday May 27, 2023 @01:28PM (#36096513)
Fair enough, nothing wrong with proposing and interesting theory!
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by ok_dad on Friday May 26, 2023 @04:29PM (#36089145)
I think there are a lot of humans who do nothing significant with their lives. Doesn’t mean they aren’t smart or capable.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by Retric on Friday May 26, 2023 @05:29PM (#36089729)
I would extend that and say all humans don’t do anything significant with their lives. It seems rather likely that humanity as a whole has had zero impact on an overwhelming majority of all life that exists or will exist, intelligent or otherwise.

Granted nobody particularly cares about the absolute scale but if you’re complaining about significance it’s obviously just personal bias.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by ok_dad on Saturday May 27, 2023 @02:10AM (#36092462)
Alternately, there is only life on this planet, and were going to be responsible for killing it all. You can’t be sure either way, so we must be way way more careful, in case this is it for the universe.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by giantrobot on Friday May 26, 2023 @06:15PM (#36090141)
Orcas tried metallurgy but they can't keep their forges lit. They're also not great airline pilots. So they've decided for now to stick with fishing.
Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by hluska on Friday May 26, 2023 @08:50PM (#36091064)
Some humans get to spend their lives hunting fish. The rest of us go to work because we have bills to pay.

You have a very weak argument.

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by tanseydavid on Friday May 26, 2023 @11:10PM (#36091739)
>> they all don't do anything else singificant their whole entire lives but hunt fish

But the article is about them organizing a posse to sink a sea-worthy boat!!!

Can you and your friends do that? Without the aid of tools?

Re:Killer whales wreck boat in latest attack off Spain by 93po on Saturday May 27, 2023 @03:58PM (#36097687)
if the boat weighed as much as me, probably