A photo from open sources
“Perhaps we look them in the face and cannot find out. The problem is that we are looking for someone very similar to us, believing that they about the same math and technology. “Intriguing remark was made by Lord Martin Reese, a leading cosmologist and astrophysicist who is also president of the british Royal Society and astronomer of the Queen of England. Reese thinks that the existence of extraterrestrial life may be beyond human understanding. “I suspect that life and mind may be there, but in forms that we cannot imagine. As well as chimpanzees cannot understand quantum theory, there may be aspects realities that our brains cannot afford, “says Reese. an alien can have four limbs, as we humans do. Or maybe seventeen tentacles, depending on evolutionary pressure. We can observe, count and describe such things. But can we describe how alien consciousness works? New work published in Acta Astronautica offers preliminary exercises to assess the intelligence of others outside our box. The exercise is called COMPLEX (abbreviation for “the complexity of life profiling markers in exobiology”). Project compares various non-human intelligences – including animals, germs and cars – with each other (and not with people) and reveals several categories in behavior and mental potential. “COMPLEX’s goal is to prepare for the assessment of other species, if we meet life in space, “says Denise Herzing, author and biologist from Florida Atlantic University. Research can be crucial value for astrobiology, which relies heavily on the understanding of earthlings of what can be met on others the planets. Because of the teeming Earth’s biosphere, it’s extremely it’s difficult to determine what “intelligence” is. Historically so that we often determine intelligence (mind, consciousness – choose necessary) of other creatures only on the basis of how much he resembles our own. We collect sound patterns that whales publish, they can be regarded as a language, grab hold of rudimentary rudiments of raven tools and admire the complex society of elephants. The study of these inhuman manifestations of intelligence through a human prism, however, can be biased. In addition, in relation to life outside the Earth, our bias in side of comparison with human intelligence in general can give misfire. Background Herzing prepared her well for such astrobiological conclusions. She is the supervisor and founder of Dolphin Project Wild, an organization that studied dolphins for almost thirty years to learn all about behavior animals, their social structure and much more. Many scientists consider dolphins one of the smartest creatures on Earth, perhaps on a par with primates. The battle of the minds For the most part, the study of dolphin intelligence closely follows standard methods that we use to evaluate the reasonableness of other species. We focus on physical features like brain size relative to body weight. We are also used to assessing the level intelligence in terms of understanding gestures, solving puzzles and acoustic language. “Usually we use two assessment methods intelligence, “says Herzing.” The first is a physical assessment body infrastructure – a large brain, a complex nervous system and etc. The second is a cognitive assessment, usually requiring experiments and tests developed by people based on what we consider to be “high skills.” The third type of measurement intelligence in its complex signaling and communicative connection only recently regained ground. Thanks to the breakthrough in recognition images using computers and other software we have tools for collecting and parsing the data necessary for assessments of this aspect. One example is compilation large segments of dolphin vocalization and listening to them identifying duplicate elements and obvious syntax sequences in clicks, whistles and squeaks. Using these research, we found deep examples like human manifestations of intelligence that to some extent threw us off high pedestals. “People are forced to abandon a certain part its uniqueness, as animals began to show their true abilities, “Herzing says. Human blinders Despite these useful acquisitions, we are still largely degrees judge animals on their own, so to speak. “Of course, every species smart enough for the environment in which he has to survive, “- Herzing says. “But other species may have intelligence, based on their structure and physical environment, and at the same time to compete with a person in difficulty, without even being like us. For example, creatures without complex arms probably won’t create things just like people. ” 
Photos from open sources Indisputably our ability repurpose the contents of the physical world, make pyramids from stones and processors made of silicon is a striking phenomenon not inherent in no other earthly organism. But the wonders of engineering in termitnikov – control of internal temperature, ventilation, the cultivation of mushroom gardens is in many ways astounding. On their own termites are not distinguished by a special mind, but their “collective mind” capable of feats. “I think one day we will see ourselves as one of the many species that have developed several specialties, sort of vocal language and manipulation of things, instead of see yourself as the only intelligent species that reasonable only because it has a language. To do justice focusing on other aspects of intelligence, Herzing developed COMPLEX. A small number of scientists, astrobiologists and programmers, weigh five possible aspects of intelligence in non-human creatures. These aspects are: “encephalization factor” (neural assessment complexity), “communication signals” (signal code complexity), “individual complexity” (the presence of personalities, in essence), “social complexity” (life in a group and apart) and “interspecific interaction “(the nature of external relations). Each of these categories broken down into more detailed attributes. For example, on the nervous specialization, natural repertoire, flexibility of roles, unions / cooperations and cross-species altruism, respectively. “Because most of the criteria for evaluating human intelligence include language, consciousness, and computational ability, in this exercise used other aspects of information processing, “- Herzing wrote in her work. Experts rated five sources possible intelligence. This included dolphins, octopuses, bees, microbes and cars. Each of these species is differently successful. copes and uses his environment in the struggle for survival (in case with machines – operate in accordance with the program). Examples of attributes include dolphins’ complex communication, associative training in octopuses, “dancing” bees, using whom they show to the congeners the way to food, group behavior microbes in colonies and computing power in cars. By total COMPLEX assessment showed how five non-human intelligences correlate with each other. Each demonstrated area high and low potential with some interesting similarities and differences. Both bees and cars scored high signal system and complex social factors. Dolphins octopuses and cars scored many points in evaluating encephalization (neural complexity). Microbes that people mistakenly consider asocial, scored high in interspecific assessment interactions. The results indicate that often we we cannot determine the elusive presence of intelligence because look at ourselves. 
Open source photo “COMPLEX is the starting exercise, which indicates the path to identifying and comparing types of intelligence without equal to purely human characteristics, “- says Herzing. A natural continuation of these preliminary findings will create additional criteria and connect other sentient beings. “It would be great to have hundreds of species species measured by experts for comparison, “says Herzing. “Five examples were chosen from a great many.” Future versions COMPLEX can also be used to parse a simple image like creatures with too wide reach. For example, “germs” are a generic term for plankton, fungi, bacteria, archaea and beyond, covering the area of behavior and activity. But not all germs appreciate this approach. A problem for COMPLEX as well as others attempts to assess the intelligence of others may be our own internal prejudices. How can we judge not by human by standards, looking with human eyes and thinking with a human head? “One of the interesting findings in this work was how difficult experts compare the brains of mammals and the organs of insects, “- Herzing says. – “Can you compare the functions of these structures and their contribution to rationality, leaving behind human bias? “. An example of machines in this regard is beautiful – at the end after all, they are built by us and for us. “Because computers and machine intelligence made by people how can you evaluate them abilities? “Herts asks. And the last question in COMPLEX approach – the need for new experts competent to study species. Well-studied non-human intelligence on Earth can open new conceptual windows. But it also will not provide one hundred percent determination of the extraterrestrial species of a rational creature, especially if this same view passes through a prism probe or satellite lens. “We need data to make conclusions, “Herzing emphasizes.” On other planets, this is fast it will be very difficult to do, but ultimately we can adapt our computers for quick sample determination, if necessary. “Every drop of insight will be useful in our preparing – and for our desire – to meet with an alien intelligence similar to ours or different from it. Finally, we cannot even determine intelligence under our nose. “We still good work to be done to define another reasonable life among human and non-human cultures on our own planet, “Herzing says.” If we confront a question of getting out of your comfort zone, I think, one fine the day will be a brilliant opportunity to look around the corner. ”
Dolphins Life Bees Pyramids
