Ward, "Is the Crown of Creation a Dunce Cap?"

Ward begins his writing by pointing out that yes, humans are intelligent and have accomplished amazing things, but at the same time we are not as intelligent as we think we are. We don’t realize that our intelligence only extends as far as measurable and predictable knowledge, such as math or physics. We have yet to grasp knowledge where “the whole tends to be greater than the sum of its parts but not predictably so.”

To begin discussing the intellectual capacity of non-humans, Ward redefines intelligence as “the capacity to learn from experience and apply that learning to future challenges.” Animals accomplish this through pattern recognition and communication. Although we may not be able to understand their non-vocal “languages,” species are capable of communicating with each other, like how a bee dances to tell its fellow bees where to find food. We cannot understand them, but they also cannot understand us; there is a mutual misunderstanding from species to species – the intelligence of one species cannot be recognized by other species.

“Swarm intelligence” is another type of intelligence that Ward discusses. While one ant may not be able to survive very well on its own, a swarm of ants is very successful. The accumulation, in essence, of tiny bits of intelligence creates a larger intelligence that allows a swarm of ants to survive. Ward points out the fact that bees form an unconscious democracy when finding a new place to build a hive, yet humans would still be arguing and suing each other long after the bees have finished their new hive. He fails to recognize, however, that the bees build a new hive because it is necessary for their survival. The bees have an innate drive to build a new hive in order to survive, whereas a new community or democracy built by humans is artificial (a creation of the technosphere), not necessary for our survival.

The matter of “conscious intent” is brought up. As far as we can tell, non-humans, especially microbes and insects, do not have conscious intent. However, it is impossible for us to understand their consciousness, as it is impossible for them to know ours. We can think that we know what animals are thinking, but our anthropomorphism of animals gets in the way of the fact that we don’t actually know what animals are thinking. We are so separated from nature that we only see the anthropomorphism, and don’t actually get to appreciate the real thing. Because of the technosphere that is constantly surrounding us, we don’t recognize the intelligence in nonhuman species.

Our human intelligence may help the technosphere evolve, but it does not help us survive as a species. Ward claims that human intelligence is possibly just a way for us to rationalize the “destructive addictions to going faster and getting more stuff.” The key point that Ward drives at is that humans need to recognize some humility. While nonhuman intelligence is different than ours, we cannot say they are less intelligent than us. In fact, human intelligence can’t even comprehend the natural world. When we recognize and accept this, we can pay closer attention to the natural world and how it can help us become intelligent in other aspects of our lives.