Tarantula Intelligence

There are some great older threads here on the topic but I wanted to start a new one.

I recently came across the quote below and thought of tarantulas.

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." -Stephen Hawking

Discuss!

By that definition tarantulas are fairly smart. They are essentially survival machines. They are very good at what they do.

With such a primitive brain (if you can even call it that way) I don't know how they can wield such a thing as intelligence. By Mr. Hawking's logic, crocodiles are out of this world.

in·tel·li·gence
inˈteləjəns/
noun
1.
the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills

By strict definition, adaptations over many generations can be viewed as a sign of intelligence. I think that a more accurate gauge of a T's intelligence level however would be to observe a single specimen's ability to adapt. I've heard many times that a T doesn't like walking on soft surfaces. Would yours adapt to it's environment if it was only given a soft surface or would it become neurotic or just die of the stress? Do some individuals have a higher intelligence level than others, as with humans?

All living organisms are ''survival machines'' and at some bigger or smaller point adapt to changed circumstances..

Gel said:

There are some great older threads here on the topic but I wanted to start a new one.

I recently came across the quote below and thought of tarantulas.

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." -Stephen Hawking

Discuss!

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One must know in advance that Dr. Hawking (for all his genius) turned away from biology to become first a physicist, then a mathematician, then a cosmologist very early in his career. As a result, he missed an intensive biological training and that whole facet of knowledge is rather foreign to him. You will notice that he tends to avoid biological topics in his writings, for instance. Had he had as intense training in biology he would never had made this statement.

If one had to typify life on Earth, one of the first statements one might make would be, "The essence of life is the ability to change, to evolve, to adapt to new conditions." That does not infer, however, that all life is intelligent. We have proven time and again (in fact, it's an important lesson in many biology classes) that bacteria "adapt" in a petri dish, that cabbages "adapt" in our gardens, that new kinds arise (i.e., "adapt") among many organisms that don't even have nervous systems, much less anything we could infer as intelligence.

Obviously, Dr. Hawking did not read Darwin.

For what it's worth, almost as many attempts have been made to define intelligence as have been made to define species and life. Thus far, all have failed to some extent, often greatly. Every time someone attempts to define one of those concepts, someone else points to exceptions and "gray zones" (e.g., plants that respond to external stimuli without a nervous system [e.g., most notably Mimosa pudica, but other plants as well], creatures that apparently do not exist as populations or do not, strictly speaking, produce offspring similar to themselves [too many examples to mention], and prions, viruses and perhaps even memes. See also Meme Central for an interesting "twist" to the topic of memes.).

Though it distresses me to say this because Dr. Hawking, like da Vinci, Newton, Darwin and a bunch of others, is among my personal heroes, I must admit he's clearly overstepped the bounds of his competence on this one.

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Math, physics, engineering, and what they can do for us may be endlessly fascinating while we're alive, but ultimately biology is what kills you!
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I don't think that what hawkings stated applys to a tarantulas intelligence in any way...IMO there driven by instinct and survive solely on that..the" smartest" ts I know of are poecs..some associate me with food. basically everything they do is based on comfort. If its to hot they move down in there burrow,if its to wet they seek a drier place etc etc...

Thanks everybody for the discussion so far.

I'm sure many have seen this video, but I'd like to post it. Curious about peoples opinions on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYwSt2uxmCs

14pokies said:

basically everything they do is based on comfort. If its to hot they move down in there burrow,if its to wet they seek a drier place etc etc...

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That would seem to explain a lot of human behavior too. Most of what we do is satisfying inherent biological drives, only we tend to make an art out of them or cash in on them. We're not that different from other animals; some people's egos need to think we are.

Poec54 said:

That would seem to explain a lot of human behavior too. Most of what we do is satisfying inherent biological drives, only we tend to make an art out of them or cash in on them. We're not that different from other animals; some people's egos need to think we are.

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If I shared my opinions of humans and there behavior I would be removed from this site permanently! People are the reason I have dedicated my life to working with animals and have avoided forums like this for many,many years! Back on topic though, species like the portia jumping spider are pretty advanced in there hunting techniques.. I wish poecs were that advanced!

14pokies said:

If I shared my opinions of humans and there behavior I would be removed from this site permanently! People are the reason I have dedicated my life to working with animals and have avoided forums like this for many,many years!

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I hear'ya!

I imagine jumping spiders are more intelligent than tarantulas, given that they seem to be quite a bit more advanced. Mygalomorphs are considered more primitive spiders from what I understand.

Adaptation aside....just seeing how tarantulas build, web, and make things from web and dirt tells me that there has to be some level of intelligence. In addition, does the mating ritual with the drumming and tapping not signal SOME form of communication? Call me crazy, but I believe they are more than instinctual.

DamonVikki said:

Call me crazy, but I believe they are more than instinctual.

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I would agree.

Stan Schultz said:

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Math, physics, engineering, and what they can do for us may be endlessly fascinating while we're alive, but ultimately biology is what kills you!
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ooooo i like that line!! is it your own?

pyro fiend said:

ooooo i like that line!! is it your own?

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Yup! Formulated as a biting response to someone's inane remark one evening a number of months ago. Luckily, I bit my tongue, regained some level of civility (I was about to say sanity, but I wouldn't want to publicly admit to such a thing!), and substituted something else that was trite and relatively noninflammatory instead.

You're free to quote it if you wish. Or not. Your choice.

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A recent article claimed that 77% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia required hospitalization. Actually, I'm rather intrigued by the remaining 23% who it seems are doing quite well for themselves!
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:biggrin:

ARACHNO-SMACK48 said:

By that definition tarantulas are fairly smart. They are essentially survival machines. They are very good at what they do.

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makes me chuckle when we keepers get all up in a bunch when our rosies enclosure drops below 75f....

Methal said:

makes me chuckle when we keepers get all up in a bunch when our rosies enclosure drops below 75f....

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All 8 of my species are handling low temperature fine

Stan Schultz said:

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A recent article claimed that 77% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia required hospitalization. Actually, I'm rather intrigued by the remaining 23% who it seems are doing quite well for themselves!
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:biggrin:

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haha oh the laughs! great way to start a night at work

Curious about people's opinions on the video I posted on the first page.