Remember the days when we humans crowned ourselves as masters of the universe? We did so because we thought we were the only toolmakers, tool users, and problem solvers. Here is a BBC video that is a must watch. You will see how a crow when presented with a complex multi-step problem solves it with its pea-sized brain. Crows can make tools, use them, and solve complex problems. Here is another video that shows how crows use traffic to break open nuts and use stoplights to collect them in safety! (Click on the link)
But you really do not need a brain to be a problem solver. Even slime mold can do it! This is just a single celled creature (with multiple nucleus’s within), with no neurons, and yet it can learn, solve puzzles, and display advanced intelligent behavior! Watch this short TED video to see this for yourself.
More and more it seems as if intelligence is ever-present and universal. Life and intelligence seem like synonyms. We humans may have been gifted with an extraordinary amount of it, but in no way we are the only intelligent creature on this planet. Rather than seeing ourselves as masters we should view ourselves as guardians of the web of life. Our role may be better understood as protectors and preservers of the glorious intelligence that we find in every aspect of life around us.