Are We Really the Smartest Kid on the Cosmic Block?
It’s
unlikely, and if we keep thinking otherwise, we might be missing some
important clues about the existence of extraterrestrial life
. . . this
attitude may be one sign that our intelligence isn’t very
impressive—that the human race as a whole suffers from the
Dunning-Kruger
effect,
in which those with mediocre abilities insist that they’re
unusually talented or smart.
This attitude: man is the measure of things —
government,
climate change, Buffalo wings —
smacks of what the Greeks meant by hubris.
The result, I expect, will not be salubrious.
Our
very best scientifical thinking
clearly shows we haven't an inkling
of reality,
space, time and matter
which we can't relate to pitter patter
baby steps of
each little feat
we mistakenly think makes us elite.