Post B3LdomdS94bLJhcQVs by realn2s@infosec.exchange
(DIR) More posts by realn2s@infosec.exchange
(DIR) Post #B3LT4DtTywdwhoHBNA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T12:23:56Z
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So I often come back to the question of defining what we mean by "intelligence." It's pretty easy to get disgusted say it's not even worth trying to define because it is a word used in such inconsistent ways. Intelligence is a positive attribute that describes the decision making capacity and effectiveness. * Is a scientific calculator intelligent?* Is a billionaire intelligent? * Is the largest blue whale the most intelligent animal alive because it has the most brain mass?
(DIR) Post #B3LTStEFx0lVr0krWy by thejessiekirk@ohai.social
2026-02-15T12:28:20Z
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@futurebird It's such a loaded term that I've found it difficult to discuss philosophically or scientifically, as like if I say species X is less intelligent than species Y, I'm insulting Y.
(DIR) Post #B3LTjhXQfbEwWDjt56 by leonardof@bertha.social
2026-02-15T12:30:40Z
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@futurebird Calculators are my go-to counterargument when people say "AI" is becoming so powerful it will gain conscience, or any "computers are going to bet us." Any pocket calculator can do math much quicker than me, for many decades now.
(DIR) Post #B3LTxnAyVOau3fxIQK by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T12:33:58Z
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"Aphids are less intelligent than ants." I think even the ants and aphids are aware of this. But, what does that statement really mean?Aphids make very few observable interesting decisions. In contrast to this ants are constantly making decisions that are easy to observe. For some aphids, part of their survival strategy is to allow ants to make most of their decisions for them. Ants decide where they forage. Ants decide if they reproduce. Ants even regulate their digestive system.
(DIR) Post #B3LU4BdiSmsffURqCW by Nigel_Lake@mastodon.world
2026-02-15T12:35:05Z
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@futurebird For me, the line is between clever - someone who knows a lot of things, whether through exceptional memory or a great deal of study - and intelligent - someone who can understand new problems and solve them. Clever is fine for some tasks and hopeless for others. Intelligence is much more flexible - and can seek out the relevant knowledge they don't have.As for the technology equivalent, LLMs are a version of clever, generally minus the awareness of whether they are right or wrong!
(DIR) Post #B3LU74isdUN15LEzbM by saltywizard@beige.party
2026-02-15T12:35:36Z
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@futurebird the largest blue whale is the most intelligent animal alive because it's not actively destroying the planet in its unquenchable thirst for material wealth and power.
(DIR) Post #B3LUOP784jv3FYqWVU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T12:38:46Z
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It is staggering how many decisions ants manage given their size. Part of the ant strategy is to have enough ants, all making decisions that if some of them make bad decisions it won't matter much, someone will get it right. They are also very quick to follow other colony members who are having success. This is the famous "emergent" colony intelligence. If you watch leaf cutter ants there will always be one ant carrying the leaf in the wrong direction. But, eventually she gets turned around.
(DIR) Post #B3LVCBJZefWMvoP2Lg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T12:47:46Z
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That one ant going the "wrong way" isn't less intelligent than the rest. She's an essential part of the system. Because sometimes that ant finds a shortcut. If she finds a short cut the pheromone path and even the passive evidence of her motion, the freshness of the leaf bit she delivers will attract more ants to her path. Quickly, without discussion or resentment all of the ants switch to the new shorter path. The wrong way ants prevent the ants from being trapped in bad attractors.
(DIR) Post #B3LVSlpheI2ap9LD9M by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T12:50:46Z
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There are these social media memes about how army ants sometimes can get trapped walking in a circle. A "death spiral" this is presented with a knowing head shake about the dangers of just following the crowd. This always annoys me since it takes extreme circumstances for this to happen to army ants. They have built in mechanisms to break such cycles and do so all the time... But when in a human built environment they may get trapped. There are no tempting distractions for "wrong way ants"
(DIR) Post #B3LVc3pG7Zw1EZYzQW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T12:52:27Z
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As a participant in the human "death spiral" that is our current approach to things like climate change I find it hard to find fault with the ants.
(DIR) Post #B3LVygVayoqNZs9b3w by raganwald@social.bau-ha.us
2026-02-15T12:56:28Z
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@futurebird When my children were young I told them to be proud of humanity: Humans are the highest form of life on Earth, according to every metric humans have devised to measure "advanced."
(DIR) Post #B3LW339eixJkyIyOzQ by ohne_sonne@potate.space
2026-02-15T12:57:10Z
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@futurebirdUsing brain mass, the glial cell ratio, the average number of neurons/kg, and similar measures has always sounded to me like a strong collective confirmation bias, under which whatever metric is used must satisfy these preconceived assumptions: Einstein > humans > monkeys > dogs > cats > rats > chickens > insects > plants.This says a lot about how intelligence is perceived: a linear, vertical hierarchy of individuals used to enforce domination over people and other living beings.
(DIR) Post #B3LWPi3BM7xwB5kZSi by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T13:01:24Z
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@mahryekuh I think that's part of it. Although what keeps up up at night is thinking about the ease with which ants will abandon a bad but popular path for a shorter more effective one. You will never have an ant who is saying "but this is the way my older sister went, you insult her memory by not using her path, she suffered so much" or "that ant who found the new shorter path thinks she's better than me, lets get rid of her and the path this is so embarrassing."I hope.
(DIR) Post #B3LX5TfJEHnnj4V4pk by rbos@mastodon.novylen.net
2026-02-15T13:08:35Z
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@futurebirdI relate to this ant.
(DIR) Post #B3LdomdS94bLJhcQVs by realn2s@infosec.exchange
2026-02-15T14:24:19Z
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@futurebird The funny thing is that human innovation often starts with "the wrong way"E.g. the discovery of x-rays by the accidental x-ray of Wilhelm Röntgens wife Anna Bertha Ludwig's hand .Or the discovery of penicillin through an contaminated sample
(DIR) Post #B3LenZ539lYWwRVfeq by dahukanna@mastodon.social
2026-02-15T14:35:18Z
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@futurebird“intelligent” is an adjective categorizing/qualifying a noun & has meaning in an applied context: having or showing high level of intelligence.“Intelligence” is a noun, describing a specific ability to acquire knowledge & skills. So “intelligent intelligence” implies there is also “unintelligent intelligence” therefore the noun is spectral in nature like light- 😀😆😉😬.In general conversation it seems “Intelligence” is being conflated with “genius” I.e. exceptional intelligence.
(DIR) Post #B3LetF98BTyMr27ttA by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T14:36:24Z
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@futurebird according to my memory, one method of observing aphid decisions involves attaching tiny gold wires to the aphids, and other tiny gold wires to the phloem tubes in the plant, so that when an aphid starts sucking sugar-rich fluid from the plant, an electrical circuit is completed, and when the aphid stops sucking fluid, the circuit is broken. Sounds fun! Or not for me, since I have terrible fine muscule motor control. (This came up in an old episode of arthro-pod .)
(DIR) Post #B3Lgew04lulTKPCCUS by JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange
2026-02-15T14:56:11Z
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@futurebird There is climate change progress being made among many countries, though. Most notably places like China and EU where renewables capacity and EV adoption is rapidly growing. Yes, the US and many developing economies are lagging behind, and we're going to blow past many of the tipping points. But the curve is no longer accelerating, and is decelerating faster. I have hope that some of the colony of communities will break us out of the death cycle with time before our species goes extinct.
(DIR) Post #B3Lgx0biNiMApTQ4eW by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T14:59:28Z
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@futurebird @mahryekuh avoiding bad attractors like cars, amazon (the online purchasing scam), cryptocurrency, and covid-19 has made me terribly unpopular. More importantly, it has cost me jobs, which has led to homelessness. And don't even get me started on how medical insurers and education systems pummel people who avoid bad attractors like cars with hatred and abuse. Nothing is more unamerican than avoiding bad attractors.
(DIR) Post #B3LhOqHsLQ2uvlPbMG by gclef@social.vivaldi.net
2026-02-15T15:04:27Z
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@futurebird Intelligence is asking questions.
(DIR) Post #B3LpmWWSHSGiDM2CLA by PizzaDemon@mastodon.online
2026-02-15T16:38:22Z
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@futurebird https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/536961-the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the-world-the-unreasonable
(DIR) Post #B3LqzqkQUiHCf2UITY by tartley@fosstodon.org
2026-02-15T16:52:01Z
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@futurebird I have always assumed this must be my role in society. 😁
(DIR) Post #B3LxjQh4IKyWtw2Bfs by datenwolf@chaos.social
2026-02-15T18:07:27Z
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@futurebird For a very long time ( > 15 years) I'm holding the definition of intelligent beingThe capability for directed & deliberated action toward the goal of overcoming hitherto unknown and untrained for situations/problems with near-optimal effort.
(DIR) Post #B3N0Qja6LCBUzyVpfU by Landa@graz.social
2026-02-16T06:12:24Z
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@futurebird I still have hope that we can learn something from our ant neighbors. @mahryekuh
(DIR) Post #B3ypUVZWeYmHDdJk7U by sinvega@mas.to
2026-03-06T12:08:53Z
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@futurebird aphid decision making is kind of admirable in its way. I'm being devoured? Well, I'm just gonna keep on eating and not think about itThey know what they like and that's enough. The buddha would be... a little troubled, but perhaps proud
(DIR) Post #B3z0xgsCoU0cAAAlNY by GraziosiSergio@mastodon.me.uk
2026-03-06T14:17:24Z
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@futurebird I've got 2 quick things to say...1. I love your toots very much. I have the habit of expanding every one I see and explore the discussions you provoke. Makes my life better.🙏 2. When it comes to living things, noise is NOT a hindrance, something that masks the desirable "signal". Noise IS signal and a necessary part of everything that lives. I think it's a shame that this point isn't widely appreciated amongst scientists. But I bet you "get it". 🙂