The OP kinda used bad faith arguments, so everyone is pointing out ways that humans excel. They have a good point however. Humans are not superior. We are not the best species. Just about every animal, insect, or parasite can kill us or seriously harm us. Our bodies are not resilient, and have about a thousand built in flaws. Our ‘intelligence’ just creates new dangers that kill us.
Humans are great in many ways, but we do not sit at the top of everything. We are great at what we do and that’s it.
Edit: A lot of people aren’t too happy with me talking about the human race in the light I did. The point of the comment was not to say humans are trash and weak. It’s to say that we excel at many things, but we are still way behind other animals in many other ways. There is no one species that is the best. They all excel in many different and special ways. We aren’t the best species.
A group of fit humans who know what they’re doing can kill any animal on earth with sharp sticks.
This includes things like whales and woolly mammoths, which we hunted to near extinction or complete extinction using pointy sticks. Keep in mind that these animals were not only thousands of times stronger than a human, but the environments in which they lived were also completely alien to the one we evolved in. The ocean and the taiga can kill an unprepared human in just a few minutes simply by them existing in it, while the native animals are perfectly adapted to live there.
And despite all that we went onto their home turf and killed them all with pointy sticks.
Right now, I have an infection that I’m toughing out without antibiotics. It’s going away. I tanked a cat playing rough, my palms under some angles can downright stop a scratch. I drank 5 shots of rakija. I have been burned, stabbed, electrocuted, what more do you want?!?
To be more specific, I pushed a nail into a socket as a kid, and a few other instances I got electrocuted. I got stabbed with a pencil right through the mole on my back by my sister, I set a box on fire at work, and put it out with my hand.
I ran into this metal pipe that serves as a shutter, I don’t know what it’s called, and the impact bent the pipe. I walked it off and continued working.
To be able to tank venoms like the mongoose or the honey badger. To be able to rarely get sick such as sharks or bats. Thick keratin skin or shells, such as the pangolin or armadillo. Being able to survive great falls, such as most small mammals and insects. Being able to regrow limbs such as some reptiles.
I’m not saying that humans are weak and fragile like glass. We can tank a lot of stuff. Most animals can tank a lot more.
Our big evolution trait is massive brain, adapting to our environment, and language. Aside from our nutty long distance stamina, and being able to throw, our bodies are NOT what makes us ‘superior’.
Have you ever observed crows? They’re very intelligent according to a lot of studies. If you observe them for some time, you’ll notice how the intelligence gives them an edge. Basically, crows will try and steal from every other species around. Mostly food, but also other stuff they deem useful.
Now, with that knowledge, observe humans. The early humans also stole stuff from every other species. You could also argue that the most successful humans (in terms of wealth) also tend to steal everything, but that’s beside the point, just view those as lagging in terms of evolution.
No species is the “best.” Some are the best in certain aspects. Ours is the ability to manipulate our environment, which is also a double edged sword as we’re now killing ourselves with climate change.
The OP kinda used bad faith arguments, so everyone is pointing out ways that humans excel. They have a good point however. Humans are not superior. We are not the best species. Just about every animal, insect, or parasite can kill us or seriously harm us. Our bodies are not resilient, and have about a thousand built in flaws. Our ‘intelligence’ just creates new dangers that kill us.
Humans are great in many ways, but we do not sit at the top of everything. We are great at what we do and that’s it.
Edit: A lot of people aren’t too happy with me talking about the human race in the light I did. The point of the comment was not to say humans are trash and weak. It’s to say that we excel at many things, but we are still way behind other animals in many other ways. There is no one species that is the best. They all excel in many different and special ways. We aren’t the best species.
A group of fit humans who know what they’re doing can kill any animal on earth with sharp sticks.
This includes things like whales and woolly mammoths, which we hunted to near extinction or complete extinction using pointy sticks. Keep in mind that these animals were not only thousands of times stronger than a human, but the environments in which they lived were also completely alien to the one we evolved in. The ocean and the taiga can kill an unprepared human in just a few minutes simply by them existing in it, while the native animals are perfectly adapted to live there.
And despite all that we went onto their home turf and killed them all with pointy sticks.
We’re great at what we do, it’s true.
That’s despite all of our weaknesses. And there’s a lot of them.
Having an all purpose massive brain does make it easier to cover for our weaknesses so they might not be that obvious at first glance.
Right now, I have an infection that I’m toughing out without antibiotics. It’s going away. I tanked a cat playing rough, my palms under some angles can downright stop a scratch. I drank 5 shots of rakija. I have been burned, stabbed, electrocuted, what more do you want?!?
Christ, that cat was playing rough! :o
The cat in the hat does not hold back
Damn cat, never getting a cat from planet Vegeta again!
Don’t bother with Space Australia either.
To be more specific, I pushed a nail into a socket as a kid, and a few other instances I got electrocuted. I got stabbed with a pencil right through the mole on my back by my sister, I set a box on fire at work, and put it out with my hand.
I ran into this metal pipe that serves as a shutter, I don’t know what it’s called, and the impact bent the pipe. I walked it off and continued working.
To be able to tank venoms like the mongoose or the honey badger. To be able to rarely get sick such as sharks or bats. Thick keratin skin or shells, such as the pangolin or armadillo. Being able to survive great falls, such as most small mammals and insects. Being able to regrow limbs such as some reptiles.
I’m not saying that humans are weak and fragile like glass. We can tank a lot of stuff. Most animals can tank a lot more.
Our big evolution trait is massive brain, adapting to our environment, and language. Aside from our nutty long distance stamina, and being able to throw, our bodies are NOT what makes us ‘superior’.
Have you ever observed crows? They’re very intelligent according to a lot of studies. If you observe them for some time, you’ll notice how the intelligence gives them an edge. Basically, crows will try and steal from every other species around. Mostly food, but also other stuff they deem useful.
Now, with that knowledge, observe humans. The early humans also stole stuff from every other species. You could also argue that the most successful humans (in terms of wealth) also tend to steal everything, but that’s beside the point, just view those as lagging in terms of evolution.
Just because we have some weakness and are not superhuman doesn’t mean we don’t excel.
That was the entire point I made.
No species is the “best.” Some are the best in certain aspects. Ours is the ability to manipulate our environment, which is also a double edged sword as we’re now killing ourselves with climate change.