Humans are an intellectual beings.

Humans and emotion - Except for moral choices. Humans need emotion sometimes to guide them, as individuals, through tough times in their lives. Just because they had to make a hard decision doesn't mean they aren't intelligent; all it means is that we are emotional creatures, with the capacity of understanding and intellectual conversation. Humanity, and modern life, isn't as simple as a game of 1's and 2's; its far more complicated. Without emotion, we would basically be robots, willing to do work without a forethought of morals or sympathy. We would continue to take down the environment to help ourselves, we would continue to slaughter animals just to further our own comfort. We will feel bad about pulling that leaver, and there will be sorrow, but we can't act like robots, if we aren't to lose our humanity, and our true intelligence for togetherness and sympathy. 2. Technology and resources - What I meant with the "mass production" and "selling" aspect of the argument is that you shouldn't sell to the population, but to private companies or investors. These technologies will cost a lot of money up front, and you would need both the support of both companies (who would probably be the ones to invest and partake in astronomical mining) but also the population, who through taxes, would probably be investing in some way or another. I don't want to get too far away from the question asked, so I'll stand behind my argument; these technologies will cost a lot of money, and our failure to progress into far flung future technologies is not due to a lack of our intelligence, but to funds, lack of knowledge at this time, and the fact that technological process, whilst slow, is speeding up thanks to innovations brought about by our intelligence. 3. Global warming - Was it truly fear and greed that didn't bring about nuclear war? Perhaps, but it is probably more likely that they (government leaders) saw the destructive events that happened at both Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and believed that they, and their population, shouldn't be brought to a nuclear end. The want to survive appears in all populations, and that isn't stimulated by greed, but by nature. The leaders knew damn well that they could escape somewhere more safe, perhaps a bunker, but they still didn't bring doomsday to their people. Is it because of greed? No, it is because they probably truly cared for their people, and they wanted to protect not just themselves, but also the citizens. This want to protect human beings, and the environment (to an extent) from certain death proves of the leaders compassion for the masses, and them having the intelligence not to blow up the world. I think the point I'm trying to make is that protecting the people, as well as protecting yourself, is as much a part of nature as it is human intelligence and sympathy. We need to get back on track with this argument, and not stray to far into new subjects. 4. Human togetherness - Yet it doesn't make them non-intelligent either. Your argument is that humans beings need to have substantial "intellect" and "knowledge" to be considered intelligent. Further more, you have stated that human beings, as a species, need to be intelligent as a majority. Where do you draw these lines; the ability to speak, the ability to work together, the ability to do one basic human action. Humans, throughout history have been working together towards goals, and every time their was a bump in the road, we have moved past it. Slavery is all but gone, homophobia is on the decline, women having voting rights now. This is a sign that we, humans, as a species, are beginning to become more open, and more intellectually aware of each other, and our compassion has all but gone up ten fold. Our new fond ability to work together is a sure sign that we are intellectual creatures. Conclusion - Life isn't simple, it is a hard game to play. Intelligence cannot be defined by a simple action, nay a line drawn in sand. Our actions taken today may be based around emotions, but our true intelligence is found within working together, and that is what we have done. Progress, both in technology and in society have allowed us to go to the deepest trench of the ocean, to the moon itself. Today, we are progressing faster and faster, and our emotions, whilst they sometimes get in the way, don't distract from our true capacity for knowledge and problem solving.