Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Wouldn't that mean

Parasites are the most highly evolved of all organisms,
ER — (archived)

and also the most specialized. They have to evolve not only a response to their environment, but to the evolving defenses of their (sometimes multiple) hosts. Many parasites are parasitic on different species at different stages of their life cycle, which means they are competing against the evolving defenses of all their hosts. A parasitic intelligence might also take an active and conscious role in the evolution of its host(s), just as we have done with our domesticated animals and plants. Its technology may be based not on physics, but on biology, through direct manipulation of whatever passes for DNA on its home world.

It also depends on how you define "parasite". All animals, ultimately, are parasitic on plants, and all predators parasitic on their prey. And not all predators are free-ranging individualists, some hunt from ambush or in packs. Some specialize and some are opportunists.

There are also animal collectives, like social insects, symbionts like the corals, and even loose collectives like the sponges. There is no a priori reason some variation like this might not evolve high intelligence, although it might be incomprehensible, or even unrecognizeable to us.

The one thing you can say about ALL organisms is that they are very competitive about survival, or they wouldn't be here. This competitivness will not necessarily manifest itself psychologically, even kudzu is highly competitive. If we ever do stumble across intelligence in the universe, we will probably be in for some big surprises.

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