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The genetic difference between humans and chimps is less than 2%.
Reality may be one, but there are many evolutionary paths. We might say that intelligence is related with the ability to learn, and there are a number of ways in which different species learn, ways which are quantitatively different. Therefore it is not difficult to imagine that a specie from another planet have taken radically different evolutionary path and has a totally different perception of reality than humans do. Or simply, might not be able to communicate with us. Saying that some other species might have qualitatively different intelligence is like saying that their brains would be made by the qualitatively different principles of reality. Reality is one.
Human species has a decent understanding of the Universe, atoms, quantum world, biology, mathematics, computing, have almost mastered nanotechnology, cell manipulation, etc. We have passed the threshold which allows us to call ourselves intelligent, and to communicate with other intelligent species. I think that above reasoning is a consequence of a fundamental flaw in the understanding of the concept of intelligence.
Intelligence is an ability to understand the world, to consciously adapt to it, and to adapt it to yourself. You cannot understand the world if you don't have a power to reason, and that power stems from the brain structure which is guided by the same principles of reality - physical, chemical, biological, (and psychological?) by which the universe is governed. Correlation between DNA variation and intelligence is almost certainly not linear or quantitative, but more qualitative. The question still stands: maybe the more intelligent species would not only be able to space travel and conquer new galaxies, but would fundamentally be different from us and we wouldn't be able to communicate with them.
Although it appears that we are so much more intelligent than chimps because we built a Hubble telescope, discovered nano technology, found cures for viruses, have tamed electricity and nuclear power, somewhat understand quantum world, maybe, just maybe, this difference is not such great, maybe it is only 2%. What would some other intelligent species smarter 2% than we are be able to comprehend and achieve? Would they even communicate with us, or would they treat us as we treat chimps? [1][2]The genetic difference between humans and chimps is less than 2%.
What is intelligence?
If that is true, how can bees be so much smarter than humans in solving 'traveling salesman' problems?[3]
[3]
