All intelligence is specific, as evidenced by the fact that a universal definition regarding the specifics of "common sense" doesn't exist.

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__MatrixMan__ 12 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Common is not the same as general. A general key would open every lock. Common keys... well they're quite familiar.

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judahmeek 10 hours ago | parent [-]

My point was that all intelligence is based on an individual's experiences, therefore an individual's intelligence is specific to those experiences.

Even when we "generalize" our intelligence, we can only extend it within the realm of human senses & concepts, so it's still intelligence specific to human concerns.

	▲	__MatrixMan__ 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		So if you encounter an unknown intelligence, like I dunno some kind of extra dimensional pen pal with a wildly different biology and environment than our own... Would you be open to the possibilities: - despite our difference we have the same kind of intelligence - our intelligences intersect, but there are capacities that each has that the other doesn't ? It seems like for either to be true there would have to be some place of common ground into which we could both generalize independently of our circumstance. Mathematics is often thought to be such a place for instance, there's plenty of sci fi about beaming prime numbers into space as an attempt to leverage that common ground. Are you saying there aren't such places? That SETI is hopeless?

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walkabout 15 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

A universal definition of “chair” is pretty hard to pin down, too…

	▲	judahmeek 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		What are your sources for that claim?