science

I, too, find that perspective compelling, but I think it's worth pointing out that societal intelligence, as defined there, isn't unique to humans. Mycelial networks allow communication, learning and reactivity among entirely different species within a forest. Eusocial insects like the hymenopterans have their own unique languages. Whales communicate among their pods and across oceans to pass on information and teachings. I'm not saying that a tree knows what a beetle is, but there's something deeper than mere genetics at play when unrelated species communicate the presence of parasites through a mycelial network, and each tree begins to produce insecticide toxins, even those which have never been infested by a beetle. We too-often discount the many languages which are already spoken on this planet, simply because they are less intelligible to us, or seem more simplistic than Infinite Jest.