This is a trick question.
Most of you would say no; definitely not even the smartest chimp.
Then I’d say - aha! relative to the scope and complexity of the universe, humans aren’t that much smarter than chimps. So humans can’t decipher the universe either!
It's a humbling and eventually comforting thought. We pride ourselves on being the most intelligent species on Earth, yet when it comes to the scale of the universe's mysteries, are we that much more enlightened than our chimp cousins?
Our scientific endeavors, from space exploration to smashing sub-atomic particles, have undoubtedly enhanced our understanding a thousandfold. Yet this knowledge only reveals to us how much we don’t know. It’s like finding a room in a mansion, only to find it leads to a labyrinth of corridors and chambers each more complex than the last.
We are in the awkward Dunning-Kruger middle spot where we are smart enough to know we don’t know but aren’t smart enough to figure it out.
Perhaps in the distant future, there may evolve beings whose intelligence would dwarf our intelligence just as ours dwarfs a humble amoeba. Perhaps they’d figure it out. Perhaps they wouldn't care as even asking these questions is a result of our insufficient intelligence.
So, what do we do?
We continue to forge ahead like explorers in a strange universe or tourists in Maui. We continue to make progress in our understanding, and more importantly, in our tools for enhancing intelligence. We embrace the journey of endless discovery while accepting that we’ll never know in our lifetimes and neither will our great great grandkids. While we do that, we can marvel, love, and enjoy the experience and our fellow beings, that are so magnificent beyond our understanding.
I'm currently formulating a vague hypothesis that if you want to make groundbreaking progress in both exploration and experience, you will have to take an uncomfortable leap beyond the constraints of your intelligence - to experience, woo, and mystique. But let’s leave that for another day and another post.
We are in the awkward Dunning-Kruger middle spot where we are smart enough to know we don’t know but aren’t smart enough to figure it out.
Perhaps in the distant future, there may evolve beings whose intelligence would dwarf our intelligence just as ours dwarfs a humble amoeba. Perhaps they’d figure it out. Perhaps they wouldn't care as even asking these questions is a result of our insufficient intelligence.
So, what do we do?
We continue to forge ahead like explorers in a strange universe or tourists in Maui. We continue to make progress in our understanding, and more importantly, in our tools for enhancing intelligence. We embrace the journey of endless discovery while accepting that we’ll never know in our lifetimes and neither will our great great grandkids. While we do that, we can marvel, love, and enjoy the experience and our fellow beings, that are so magnificent beyond our understanding.
I'm currently formulating a vague hypothesis that if you want to make groundbreaking progress in both exploration and experience, you will have to take an uncomfortable leap beyond the constraints of your intelligence - to experience, woo, and mystique. But let’s leave that for another day and another post.