> A chimpanzee can use tools and solve problems, but it will never construct a factory, design an iPhone, or build even a simple wooden house. Humans can, because our intelligence operates at a qualitatively different level.
Humans existed in the world for hundreds of thousands of years before they did any of those things, with the exception of wooden hut, which took less time than that. But also wasn't instant.
Your example doesn't entirely contradict the argument that it takes time and experimentation as well, that intellect isn't the only limiting factor.
My point wasn't so much about how fast humans achieved these things, but about what's possible at all given a certain cognitive architecture. Chimpanzees could live for another million years and still wouldn't build a factory, not because they don't have enough time, but because they lack the cognitive and cultural mechanisms to accumulate and transmit abstract knowledge.
So I completely agree that intelligence alone isn't the only factor, it's the whole foundation.
> Chimpanzees could live for another million years and still wouldn't build a factory, not because they don't have enough time, but because they lack the cognitive and cultural mechanisms
Humans existed in the world for hundreds of thousands of years before they did any of those things, with the exception of wooden hut, which took less time than that. But also wasn't instant.
Your example doesn't entirely contradict the argument that it takes time and experimentation as well, that intellect isn't the only limiting factor.