I would suggest that perhaps intelligence and wisdom should be contrasted as evolutionary forces. Intelligence can be applied appropriately to survival (wisdom being defined in this discussion as intelligence applied to the long-term benefit or survival of the host), or it can hasten demise. Humans often misuse intelligence due to cultural factors -- the American Indians often noted this.
It seems obvious that there is a widely varying time cycle for all species from evolutionary emergence to extinction, and the "intelligence" of Homo sapiens" may result in a very fast cycling from emergence to extinction, and largely because intelligence itself has become shown to be an anti-speciation factor, not only for our own species, but for many others. Interestingly, some indigenous cultures around the world demonstrate wisdom and sustainability, causing conflict with the more "advanced" or "intelligent" cultures when they compete or collide. Different cultural manifestations of intelligence that seem to lead to problems with long-term survival may include capitalism, consumerism, addiction to technology. What is amazing to me is how obvious the solutions to most of mankind's problems can be if one can separate oneself from dominant cultural paradigms. But it appears that the applicaiton of problem-solving intelligence is outweighed by non-sustainable applications of intelligence. What is lacking, in my view, in simple terms, is not intelligence, but wisdom. My intuition is that even if a fraction of today's human population were to survive a (theoretical) impending human-induced calamity, we would ultimately see a repeat of the entire process that leads to self-extinction (or near self-extinction), but in an even shorter time frame than before. Stan Moore San Geronimo, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
