Does Anyone Else Find It Strange?

[HP]

So, I am a human, correct?

And it appears humans are the smartest species on the planet, given just about any definition of smartest. I would even say human civilizations are more complex than any other kind of social group any other animals have formed

And I am a human. There's been about 100 billion humans to ever exist. But right now there are what, quadrillions of insects? Should I feel strange I 'happen' to be one of the very rare elite? Lucky? Is this a huge coincidence?

I doubt many would think this is just a coincidence. I don't (I'm more or less atheist fwiw). I am curious of everyone else's view here

Also, if there is some reason for us being the smartest, could we then say there is probably not a very populated (1 trillion+) race of aliens anywhere else in the Universe? Who disagrees, and why?

Could you also say that we are probably in the most complex time in human history? (either in regards to civilization or average intelligence)

[kerowo]

I'm not sure what your questions are.

'You' exist now and your satisfaction with that is too subjective to know whether you would have been happier existing at another time. However, you don't get a choice as to when you exist so as a question there isn't much we can tell you.

Our existance as a species has no impact on the existance of other species in different parts of the universe. However, if humans had the means to visit other planets we would be living on different planets. If you accept that intelligent life is probable or even possible there is no reason to think a species would develop the ability to travel between planets and not spread out to enough of them to support very large numbers of them. This can all be intra system and not require FTL travel.

You'll have to define what you mean by complex to answer the last question. We are currently the most technologically advanced that we have ever been but I don't know what you mean by complex.

[ShakeZula06]

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So, I am a human, correct?

And it appears humans are the smartest species on the planet, given just about any definition of smartest. I would even say human civilizations are more complex than any other kind of social group any other animals have formed

And I am a human. There's been about 100 billion humans to ever exist. But right now there are what, quadrillions of insects? Should I feel strange I 'happen' to be one of the very rare elite? Lucky? Is this a huge coincidence?

I doubt many would think this is just a coincidence. I don't (I'm more or less atheist fwiw). I am curious of everyone else's view here

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OMG I think about this all the time when high. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Still yet to come to a concrete answer though.

[HP]

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I'm not sure what your questions are.

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Well, let's start off with this one and work from there

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Should I feel strange I 'happen' to be one of the very rare elite? Lucky? Is this a huge coincidence?

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[FortunaMaximus]

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I'm not sure what your questions are.

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Well, let's start off with this one and work from there

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Should I feel strange I 'happen' to be one of the very rare elite? Lucky? Is this a huge coincidence?

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With regards to a handful of millennia, yeah, it does seem like a quite significant era in history. What you have to consider that other significant eras would give you the same feeling. Being a Florentine in the Renaissance, for instance.

In the context of an eon or several dozen millennia, it might become more of a predictable trend line.

But I agree it's a pretty cool era to live in.

[HP]

btw for that question I am just referring to the fact we are the smartest species on Earth (I am not a rat), and I'd say most complex. If you count up the number of organisms on Earth, even if you forget single celled organisms, humans are extremely rare

It's my personal opinion the human mind is the most complex thing in the Universe. As in, the neural network that exits inside ones skull

[JussiUt]

I guess you're lucky to have been born but I don't see how you can compare it to anything else. I mean if you "had been born" as a flower you wouldn't be you. I guess it's a one way of thinking that one considers oneself lucky to have been born as a human and not as a cat but it's....hmm...a confusing thought. We are what we are. If you "were" a flower you would be a flower and you wouldn't know of anything else. We just happened to be born at this particular time. Don't know about "luck".

[PairTheBoard]

What seems strange to me is the thought that you could be you if you weren't you.

PairTheBoard

[Philo]

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Should I feel strange I 'happen' to be one of the very rare elite? Lucky? Is this a huge coincidence?

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I don't think there's anything serendipitous about you being one of the elite. You couldn't have been anything other than a human being, so it's far from serendipitous that you are a human being and not something else.

OTOH, you are of course very fortunate to have been born at all, since that was a hugely improbable empirical outcome (presumably). But, given that you were born, it's a necessary truth that you were born a human being.

[HP]

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I don't think there's anything serendipitous about you being one of the elite. You couldn't have been anything other than a human being, so it's far from serendipitous that you are a human being and not something else.

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I'm not really feeling this

care to elaborate?