How did intelligent life got so advanced on land (humans) than in the oceans considering how the ocean is the greater part of the world and has much more diversity in it?
In: Biology
The ocean is easier to survive in than on land, as a result there is less selection pressure in general and marine life tends to evolve more slowly than land animals.
You have buoyancy and pressure to help maintain your body shape, you can move in three dimensions, your eggs aren’t at risk of drying out, you can shoot your load anywhere and have a decent chance of fertilising some eggs.
You are resistant to many extremes of weather, there are never droughts or floods underwater. Storms only really affect the top layer. Even earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are much easier to survive underwater.
The ocean’s size is misleading. Large proportions of all the oceans can technically be classified as deserts. This sounds crazy, but one important meaning of “desert” isn’t to do with being arid, but rather density of biomatter. In much of the ocean not near to continents or islands, the water contains very little life-sustaining nutrients and a few meters down, very little energy.
[80% of Earth’s known species](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/07/why-are-there-so-many-more-species-on-land-than-in-the-sea/533247/) live on land (and this is not likely due to differences in exploration).
Could be luck of the draw, as most species on Earth are terrestrial. Humans are recipients of many happy accidents- part of a few lineages to develop sophisticated minds while millions and millions of others did not (and our highly intelligent cousin species like the neanderthals perished in spite of their big brains).
This is the perfect opportunity to recommend a favorite book of mine: Fluke, by Christopher Moore. Look it up, it’s a hilarious (and relevant!) read.
Humans became who we are to survive. Intelligent species can do spectacular things with their computer brains, but they are directed in different directions… ours had to direct us to making and exploiting tools, because our bodies and its abilities are mostly unspectacular…. Our hands are a wonder no doubt. But this and every other sense is more advanced and spectacular in other species, hearing, sight ,smell, strength, lung capacity, speed, dexterity….. we evolved our brain the way it is because we had to.
You come in at the end of this whole process and think it was pre-ordained. Everything to do with earth itself … it’s all by accident. Why people look for a creator. In a sense, the universe is our creator.
Our consciousness is what truly sparks our creativity. Coupled that with our body to create and produce things.
Dolphins are smart as fuck. However they can’t even wipe their ass with toilet paper. They are limited to their bodies.
Our technology became advanced, our knowledge aswell. But dont forget that most people live of off technology abd knowledge created and discovered by a very small amount of people compared to the whole population. Japan didnt invent smartphones, a few japaneese people did, as one example.
Most people sadly are dumbasses.
And honestly without opposable thumbs whos to say we’d ever even invent fire? So is the criteria for intelligence then something to grab tools with to create technology that for most part gets abused and misused? I think not.
I think out definition of “advanced” is hubris.
Dolphins and whales don’t answer the question, as they are mammals like us who returned to water after evolving on land. The real answer comes from before we were tetrapods with the development of the vertebral column.
A backbone allowed for strong organizational changes to the central nervous system and gave bodies the structural strength to climb on land, meaning vertebrates physically capable of getting out of the water were already at a neurological advantage compared to most of the animal kingdom. After that, air allowed for better mobility, easier gas exchange and increased visibility which improved access to information, so nervous systems increased in complexity to accommodate these factors. Arthropods also climbed out of the water but their lack of skeleton limits the mass they can carry and makes active gas exchange impossible (no lungs for more oxygen).
Dry land is also a less violent environment for organic competition with stricter selection pressures compared to the ocean, as the chemical reactions necessary for life only happen in water. Animal life on land requires stronger bodies that can retain their own moisture, so to even exist on that level means you’ve filtered out opportunities for less complex forms to stay competitive.
Lastly, as hominids our advanced mobility + advanced neurology allowed for tool use, creating technology that sped our development up exponentially. Fire, language, spears etc created physical changes that improved our intelligence and ability to devote calories to brain power.
TLDR; surviving on land has a higher barrier to entry, but more potential for expansion
It is surprisingly hard to determine how much more inteligent we actually are. We know there are animals that use tools (ravens), animals which can call other members by names (elephants, whales), animals that can learn a number of words, even a small number of simple sentences.
How much smarter are we on the spectrum of intelligence? Is it 100% smarter than say dolphin? (Who pokes pufferfish to get high and apparently can do a low level arithmetics). Or just 1%? You are correct we as Humans seem to be the most intelligent species on Earth, but well somebody has to be and maybe we are not that ahead of other animals, it only seems that way because of how we perceive intelligence.
From what I can say, the biggest difference between us and other animals is our ability to write, namely an ability to pass information and knowledge in written form. And well, without tools that is hard to do under water. Maybe it is that simple? Maybe the smartest species just happend to figure out writing on the dry land, because it was easier. 🙂
Ignoring humans both land and water animals have some heavy hitters when it comes to intelligence.
But the main benefit of primates as are
1. Tool use. We has hands.
2. Wisdom and the ability to pass on knowledge.
Octopus are extremely smart. But they don’t really pass on knowledge and they themselves have short life spans.
Dolphin and whale are smart and can pass on knowledge but can’t really use tools effectively
Some birds like crows and raven are very smart and pass on knowledge but don’t particularly have great tool use.
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