Are vulcans biologically smarter than humans?

[LobsterAfternoon]

Forgive me if this has been asked before, since I don't post here too often. But have we ever seen any evidence for vulcans being, as a species, smarter than humans? Most of our vulcan main characters are certainly involved in intellectual pursuits (the sciences, future chess, logic, etc), but are they any smarter than the average Academy graduate of any species?

 

[MacLeod]

I would say not, sure they might be better suited to the sciences than other species but that doesn't mean they are smarter.

 

[Captain McBain]

Spock was certainly able to do mental math much better than any humanoid we've seen.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Biologically? No.

Culturally? Perhaps.

In a society that celebrates logic over emotion, academics may be a favorite pastime of Vulcans from a very young age. And yet for all their book smarts, some Vulcans tend to have little to no common sense. They become so immersed in the Vulcan way, so focused on doing everything logically, that they tend to be baffled by things that are non-Vulcan or don't fit their parameters of how they think things should be...like Humans.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I think they are biologically smarter. They've been making genetically smart choices for centuries. I doubt they allow sub intelligent Vulcans to breed, assuming they haven't fixed these problems.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Did the Vulcans invent duotronic computers?

Did the Vulcans invent transwarp beaming?

Did the Vulcans invent transparent aluminium?

Is a Vulcan synonymous with Warp Drive?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

They did all that when we were smelting bronze.

 

[mupps]

I think what they have is the focus and clarity to pursue intellectual pursuits more...diligently, then the average human.

A Vulcan probably spends decades on their education alone never mind what they do with that education.
Humans would have a broader sense of life and how to live it.
But a human who puts in the effort and time is probably a match for the best and brightest Vulcans.

As was said by C.E, they are intelligent but are they smart?

How much did T'Pol keep bringing up the dogmatic response that time travel was impossible...even when she saw evidence of it happeneing.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

One of the novels touches on how living long and spending many decades on single pursuits leads to atrophying of curiosity and a lack of openness to new ideas.

 

[Nerys Myk]

They did all that when we were smelting bronze.

And then stagnated?

If so, it would appear that the human versions are preferred over and possibly superior to the Vulcan ones.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Yes they stagnated. Once something had been determined, such as the impossibility of time travel, there was no reason to pursue ideas that contradicted what was known as fact. In ENT we see that they think exploration for the sake of seeing what is there is a poor use of time and resources. I think that may have been a cultural understanding that effected a lot of their development.

Wild ideas aren't logical.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Yes they stagnated. Once something had been determined, such as the impossibility of time travel, there was no reason to pursue ideas that contradicted what was known as fact. In ENT we see that they think exploration for the sake of seeing what is there is a poor use of time and resources. I think that may have been a cultural understanding that effected a lot of their development.

Wild ideas aren't logical.

They suck at being scientists

 

[R. Star]

I see a question with no provable answer that is basically turning into a debate over who likes what race better.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I love the Vulcans, myself. They might be my favorite ST race.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

IDIC peoples!

 

[MacLeod]

I think what they have is the focus and clarity to pursue intellectual pursuits more...diligently, then the average human.

A Vulcan probably spends decades on their education alone never mind what they do with that education.
Humans would have a broader sense of life and how to live it.
But a human who puts in the effort and time is probably a match for the best and brightest Vulcans.

As was said by C.E, they are intelligent but are they smart?

How much did T'Pol keep bringing up the dogmatic response that time travel was impossible...even when she saw evidence of it happeneing.

Ah yes, "The Vulcan science directerate has determined time travel to be impossible". But didn't some people contiinue to believe the Earth was flat when it was proven to be round? Sometimes long held beliefs take a while to overcome.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

How can there ever be such a thing as "biologically smarter"? Smarts aren't genetically encoded at birth. All that matters is how the person was raised and educated. We are all born 'dumb'.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

That is incorrect. We are not blank slates. Our brains vary in wiring.

 

[Edit_XYZ]

How can there ever be such a thing as "biologically smarter"? Smarts aren't genetically encoded at birth. All that matters is how the person was raised and educated. We are all born 'dumb'.

O, but 'smarts' ARE encoded at birth:
IQ/intelligence is, in its largest part, encoded in one's DNA (on the basis of which one's nervous system grows).
And it has little enough to do with how much information one accumulates; nurture/education may nudge the intelligence up a bit - but not by much.

The idea that "Smarts aren't genetically encoded at birth" is an extremist PC position that has little to do with fact.

 

[LobsterAfternoon]

I see a question with no provable answer that is basically turning into a debate over who likes what race better.

Okay, sorry you see it that way. But like most things on a trek discussion forum, it was to solicit fan opinions. I understand there's no provable answer, as we neither have access to vulcan IQ tests nor is anyone here a writer of in-canon universe stories. Thanks for chiming in though.