Not mine. They're around 160 million years old apparently. They became extinct even without our help. Darwins theory seems legit. We'll all be getting dug out of rocks in another 100 million years with whatever the next dominant intelligent life is that develops on our rock. I wonder if they'll still be knocking lumps out of each other and squabbling over resources and land?
I think it’ll be something that evolves from Orcas. I’ve seen reports of them attacking boats. They go for the same thing (the rudder) every time they do it. Which means they know that will disable the boat.
A captain whose boat had been attacked twice said the 2nd time they communicated much less, were much more organized, did a better job, and were even faster at doing it. This shows advanced problem solving intelligence.
Add to the fact their intelligence is already equivalent to a 16 year old, for reference an octopus is only as smart as a 3 year old. 100 million years later Orca intelligence could be on par with a 25 year old.
Intelligence isn't the only thing needed to develop sapience. Human intelligence was accelerated through tool usage and an active need to develop in order to better survive in our environment. Orcas have no need for tools, and they are already as well adapted to their homes as an animal can possibly be. It's the same reason why spiders and scorpions have been around virtually unchanged for as long as animals have been on land. Recognizable whales have been around for tens of millions and years, and barring some major global disaster, will likely be around ten of millions of years from now.
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u/EstablishmentReal156 2d ago
Not mine. They're around 160 million years old apparently. They became extinct even without our help. Darwins theory seems legit. We'll all be getting dug out of rocks in another 100 million years with whatever the next dominant intelligent life is that develops on our rock. I wonder if they'll still be knocking lumps out of each other and squabbling over resources and land?