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I am imagining a project where the development of more advanced brain-computer interfaces allow humans to communicate telepathically with animals, and so discover that numerous species on Earth are sapient. These include African bush, forest and Asian elephants, the common dolphin, Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, spotted dolphin, fin whale, blue whale and humpback whale.

However, I have run into a problem: all these species arose either before or around the same time as humans, so I need a good excuse as to why none have also developed a high-tech civilisation, discovered fire or even developed tools beyond the level of sticks and stones. Any ideas?

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    $\begingroup$ Seems like answers may be specific to the types of animals or at least where they live. Meaning potentially a different answer for dolphins and whales than for elephants. In other words, does this deserve to be two (or more) questions? $\endgroup$ Jan 27, 2023 at 22:53
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    $\begingroup$ This sounds like something that's the basis of an entire story. I would go with Douglas Adams's answer: goodreads.com/quotes/… $\endgroup$ Jan 27, 2023 at 23:05
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    $\begingroup$ define sapient, there are to many ways to define it and it has a big impact on answers $\endgroup$
    – John
    Jan 28, 2023 at 2:53

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They are all total a-holes.

Civilization entails getting along. Humans do ok with that. None of the other sapient animals can. They are total jerks to anyone outside immediate family. Dolphins get together for reasons but they do nothing but hate on each other the whole time. Chimps eat baby chimps. You cant be around an elephant male for more than a few days before it tries to stomp you or mate with you or stomp you to slow you down then mate with you. Whales are just dicks.

The fact that animals are all jerks becomes evident pretty quick to people using the telepathy. There was some suspicion that might be the case because we are familiar with cats.

It turns out humans are actually the goodest or at least capable of being good to each other long enough to make civilization.


Dogs are not jerks. Dogs are sentient too and they are sweeties. When asked why they did not develop a high tech civilization they will good naturedly point out that they did. But they could not have done it without our help!

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  • $\begingroup$ You could also use this idea with the exact opposite reasoning. Dolphins decided it is a lot more fun to just swim around the ocean and eat fish all then to have to go to the office to push buttons. So they decided they don't want any of that civilization stuff, they are much more happy without it. $\endgroup$
    – quarague
    Jan 28, 2023 at 7:47
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    $\begingroup$ Animals are a lot like people, Mrs Simpson. $\endgroup$
    – Daron
    Jan 28, 2023 at 14:27
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No writing or tools

Writing is a critical prerequisite for developing a technological society. Writing allows creatures to store information outside their bodies. Without writing, each individual can only have the knowledge they are able to hold in their memory, and that places limits on what kinds of projects individuals and societies can undertake. It also makes it much harder for society to unlock new knowledge because they can't do science if they can't record observations.

None of the water creatures you name have any real ability to grip objects, a handicap that is often glossed as "they don't have opposable thumbs." Also, to the extent that technology requires taming and wielding fire, they're stuck because they can't do that in the water.

Elephants do have some limited tool use, because their trunks have incredible dexterity. But, they don't have writing. Since many kinds of elephant are migratory, and have very limited ability to touch their own bodies, maintaining a collection of written materials would be difficult (though not impossible, with help from another elephant).

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    $\begingroup$ However, humans had societies for thousands of years prior to the invention of writing. We used other means to remember and pass along culture such as song and dance. We built cities without writing. $\endgroup$
    – David R
    Jan 28, 2023 at 16:08
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Maybe the answer has something to do with their underlying biology, and that they had no need to form civilizations in the first place! Dolphins and whales, for example, very likely wouldn't be able to have discovered fire considering they live underwater. Even tools like spears or the wheel and axle would have been very useless, let alone the fact that wielding them with flippers and fins would be extremely difficult. So the dolphins may have instead spent their time developing a complex oral language filled with rich culture and tradition!

The other creatures may not have been under as much "pressure" to develop civilization as humans were. And even humans were hunter-gatherers for around 2 million years! The development of civilization was a relatively modern occurrence. Humans formed civilizations for mainly agricultural and economic reasons. Perhaps the elephants had no need for such things! Elephants are mainly herbivorous, and plants and grasses are plentiful in their natural habitat. They wouldn't have any need to farm or cook trees, and similarly, they wouldn't need advanced tools to harvest them, since their trunks already do all the work. They would have no need for mutual defense since they have no major predators! Elephants can thermoregulate extremely effectively due to their large size, and wouldn't have been under pressure to keep warm (and thus develop fire) as much as cool off.

I hope this helps!

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you, this is the best answer thus far! 1 upvote! $\endgroup$
    – user98816
    Jan 28, 2023 at 10:29
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You forgot an extremely important group of animals that are sapient: birds. Crows/ravens and large parrots have been tested and appear to be approximately as intelligent as 4 or 5 year old humans. Why are they stalled out at that stage and have not continued to become more intelligent and technological? Part of the reason may be limited body size due to the need to fly, lack of hands for manipulating objects and short lifespans. Another group are the cephalopods (squid, octopi, cuttlefish). When tested they also show high intelligence and good tentacle dexterity. They are limited by short lifespans and being underwater.

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Here are a few possible reasons that could explain why these species have not developed high-tech civilizations or discovered fire:

  1. Lack of dexterity: Many of these species, such as whales and dolphins, have physical adaptations optimized for their aquatic environments, and may lack the necessary dexterity to manipulate tools or work with fire.

  2. Different needs and priorities: The sapient species in question may have different priorities or ways of satisfying their needs that do not involve high technology or fire. For example, they may rely on instinct, communication, and cooperation to meet their needs.

  3. Environmental factors: The environments in which these species live may not provide the resources necessary for the development of high technology or fire. For example, many whales and dolphins live in environments where fire is not feasible.

  4. Different evolutionary paths: The evolutionary paths of these species may have taken them in directions that do not involve the development of high technology or fire. This could be due to differences in the challenges they faced, their physical abilities, or other factors.

These are just a few possible explanations that could help resolve the issue in your project.

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