That ability to wipe out the human race also has the nasty side effect of wiping out 99.99% of other life on the planet. If that is what happens then so be it. shit happens! But that still put's humans in the top 0.01%. It is also extremely unlikely that we will create a Mass extinction, a nuke or two sure! Worst case we nuke us all to fuck and humans will probably still survive in bunkers etc for a 1000 years. That is survivability!
I agree is yet to be seen on the grand scale if our intelligence is truly detrimental to our environment. This is most likely the reason we have emotion coupled with logic.
I do find it hard to believe that humans are no more intelligent now than in the 16th century though. The more information that is freely available in our society brings up the mean intelligence of the species as a whole. We are in the information age and I have a feeling more and more prodigies will be born on a daily basis.
RE: Humans Are Not Smarter Than Other Forms Of Life, Just Different