--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It really sucks to be the number two…" description: "\"It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.\" — Jaan Tallinn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/jaan-tallinn-26715_gorillas_it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-int_792254.jpg" --- # It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species… ![“It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.” quote by Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/jaan-tallinn-26715_gorillas_it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-int_792254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/jaan-tallinn-26715_gorillas_it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-int_792254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/jaan-tallinn-26715_gorillas_it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-int_792254.jpg) > “It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.” [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being the second‑most intelligent species feels disappointing, especially when other species like gorillas appear more approachable. **In simple terms:** It’s frustrating to be the second smartest species. Key Takeaway Embrace human uniqueness. Themes humanity intelligence humility Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - public speaking - science communication Key Concepts species ranking AI ethics Questions to Reflect On - How should humanity define its purpose beyond intelligence? - What responsibilities come with being highly intelligent? A Different Perspective Intelligence isn’t the sole measure of worth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gorillas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gorillas/) [Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet/) ## Related quotes > [Being number two sucks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-agassi/being-number-two-sucks/) [Andre Agassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-agassi/) > [We have intelligent species on our planet that we are not even trying to communicate with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/we-have-intelligent-species-on-our-planet-that-we-are-not-even-trying/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [“They say that animals are incapable of feelings and reasoning. This is false. No living thing on earth is void of either. They also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/they-say-that-animals-are-incapable-of-feelings-and-reasoning-this-is/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Star Trek's genial premise is that the cosmos is flush with intelligent species, and our descendants will interact with them face-to-face, thanks to warp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/star-trek-s-genial-premise-is-that-the-cosmos-is-flush-with/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [It would seem to me that by the time a race has achieved deep space capability it would have matured to a point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/it-would-seem-to-me-that-by-the-time-a-race-has-achieved-deep-space/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [Extinction catches Man by surprise because no one can even imagine that such a catastrophe can happen to an intelligent species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/extinction-catches-man-by-surprise-because-no-one-can-even-imagine/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [Species evolve to meet the environment. An intelligent species changes the environment to suit itself. As soon as a species becomes intelligent, it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/species-evolve-to-meet-the-environment-an-intelligent-species-changes/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [“Intelligence is overrated by any species that has it, and that's provable by the fact that all intelligent species are outlived by a factor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/intelligence-is-overrated-by-any-species-that-has-it-and-that-s/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [We are an intelligent species and the use of our intelligence quite properly gives us pleasure. In this respect the brain is like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-are-an-intelligent-species-and-the-use-of-our-intelligence-quite/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humanity actually has the gall to feel they are more advanced than they were; technology somehow defines intelligence. If technology enables you to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/humanity-actually-has-the-gall-to-feel-they-are-more-advanced-than/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“We became an intelligent species by solving problems, and now that we are entering a technological era where we no longer need to solve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/we-became-an-intelligent-species-by-solving-problems-and-now-that-we/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“I firmly disagree with anyone who says humans are the most advanced, or the most intelligent species on the planet. In fact, only three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-morrow/i-firmly-disagree-with-anyone-who-says-humans-are-the-most-advanced/) Israel Morrow > [“Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have enough years in their little lives to come to an understanding of anything at all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/hive-queen-they-never-know-anything-they-don-t-have-enough-years-in/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that space flight is a condition of Nature that comes into effect when an intelligent species reaches the saturation point of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-wollheim/i-think-that-space-flight-is-a-condition-of-nature-that-comes-into/) [Donald A. Wollheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-wollheim/) > [mankind has no right to employ its genius in the creation of another intelligent species, then treat it like property. If we've come so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/mankind-has-no-right-to-employ-its-genius-in-the-creation-of-another/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## More by Jaan Tallinn > [I used to have the very standard worldview. I can easily identify with people who see computers getting faster and smarter, and technology getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-used-to-have-the-very-standard-worldview-i-can-easily-identify-with/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Technology keeps progressing. Young people follow the curve. But as they get older, they get inertia, and they start deviating from that curve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/technology-keeps-progressing-young-people-follow-the-curve-but-as/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [I myself am also a small investor in Slack, and one can count four to five IM platforms that were launched by Skype alumni…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-myself-am-also-a-small-investor-in-slack-and-one-can-count-four-to/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Once we have something that is no longer under control, once technological development is yanked out of our hands, it doesn't have to continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/once-we-have-something-that-is-no-longer-under-control-once/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Incentive schemes, whereby people who have done the most good for humanity are rewarded 20 years into the future, would create the expectation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/incentive-schemes-whereby-people-who-have-done-the-most-good-for/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Giving the control over powerful AI to the highest bidder is unlikely to lead to the best world we can imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/giving-the-control-over-powerful-ai-to-the-highest-bidder-is-unlikely/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [There is no shortage of embarrassing facts about healthcare, and people die every day in the U.S. due to preventable errors - would you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/there-is-no-shortage-of-embarrassing-facts-about-healthcare-and/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Healthcare is the only civil system where new technology makes prices go up instead of down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/healthcare-is-the-only-civil-system-where-new-technology-makes-prices/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [We don't exactly have the opposite interests to chimpanzees. However, things are not looking up for the chimpanzees, because we control their environment. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/we-don-t-exactly-have-the-opposite-interests-to-chimpanzees-however/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Once you acknowledge that human brains are basically made of atoms and acknowledge that atoms are governed by simple laws of physics, then there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/once-you-acknowledge-that-human-brains-are-basically-made-of-atoms/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Building advanced AI is like launching a rocket. The first challenge is to maximize acceleration, but once it starts picking up speed, you also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/building-advanced-ai-is-like-launching-a-rocket-the-first-challenge/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [I was born behind the Iron Curtain, and I remember heated discussions about large-scale terra-forming projects, such as reversing the direction of the river…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-was-born-behind-the-iron-curtain-and-i-remember-heated-discussions/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [The main reason I backed DeepMind was strategic: I see my role as bridging the AI research and AI safety communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/the-main-reason-i-backed-deepmind-was-strategic-i-see-my-role-as/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [I sometimes joke that I can take personal responsibility for saving one million human relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-sometimes-joke-that-i-can-take-personal-responsibility-for-saving/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [In my view, the fact that computers caught up to humans and completely dominate humans in chess and some other domains already, that says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/in-my-view-the-fact-that-computers-caught-up-to-humans-and-completely/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) [Explore all 21 Jaan Tallinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) ## More Gorillas quotes > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It's gorillas here, takes a village to raise a villain here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/it-s-gorillas-here-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-villain-here/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [It's hard to put into words. Gorillas are not complainers. We're dreamers, poets, philosophers, nap takers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/it-s-hard-to-put-into-words-gorillas-are-not-complainers-we-re/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) > [Actually, scientists don't know exactly how lice jumped from gorillas to our human ancestors. They speculate that we may have eaten them or perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziya-tong/actually-scientists-don-t-know-exactly-how-lice-jumped-from-gorillas/) Ziya Tong > [When you start to do research into gorillas or any kind of apes, if you're going to play them, that's one of the biggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/when-you-start-to-do-research-into-gorillas-or-any-kind-of-apes-if/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [“People and gorillas, horses and duikers and pigs, monkeys and chimps and bats and viruses: We’re all in this together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/people-and-gorillas-horses-and-duikers-and-pigs-monkeys-and-chimps/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Rather than something like King Kong where I really went after studying gorillas in the wild and captivity. I based Caesar \[ from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/rather-than-something-like-king-kong-where-i-really-went-after/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [We're animals. We're violent. We're criminal. We're not so far away from the gorillas and the apes, those beautiful creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/we-re-animals-we-re-violent-we-re-criminal-we-re-not-so-far-away-from/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [If mountain gorillas are to survive and propagate, far more active conservation measures urgently need to be undertaken. The question remains, is it already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/if-mountain-gorillas-are-to-survive-and-propagate-far-more-active/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [The fact that all our ape cousins - chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans - can acquire signs - is powerful evidence that our hominid ancestors'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-fouts/the-fact-that-all-our-ape-cousins-chimpanzees-gorillas-and-orangutans/) [Roger Fouts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-fouts/) > [That's right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh," Nick said arrogantly. "You might know karate, boy, but I know gorilla, and I'm a level 40 champion in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/that-s-right-uh-huh-uh-huh-nick-said-arrogantly-you-might-know-karate/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I actually taught perceptual psychology at N.Y.U. when I was younger. I was interested in the aesthetic impulse in lower primates. But what really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/i-actually-taught-perceptual-psychology-at-n-y-u-when-i-was-younger-i/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manila.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/it-will-be-a-killer-and-a-chiller-and-a-thriller-when-i-get-the/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [I was doing comedy in laundry mats in 1992, literally where I would bring a little gorilla amp and a lapel mike and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/i-was-doing-comedy-in-laundry-mats-in-1992-literally-where-i-would/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Gorillas remind me of my father. He was a very big, physically strong man but also very sensitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-browne/gorillas-remind-me-of-my-father-he-was-a-very-big-physically-strong/) [Anthony Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-browne/) [Browse all 126 Gorillas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gorillas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jaan Tallinn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-intelligent-species-on-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gorillas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-intelligent-species-on-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/jaan-tallinn-26715_gorillas_it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-int_792254.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/jaan-tallinn-26715_gorillas_it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-int_792254.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/557/jaan-tallinn-26715_gorillas_it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-int_792254.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.” — Jaan Tallinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jaan Tallinn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It really sucks to be the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-intelligent-species-on-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-intelligent-species-on-this/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```