Back to "origins of intelligence", I'm not sure what's the cause and what is the effect here.
The reason why humans are different from other animals is that our intelligence makes us adaptable. Take a lion, or a spider, or a hawk and the whole species exhibits basically the same behavior, which is based on instinct. If you saw one of them then you've kind of seen them all. Humans can change their behavior, develop new tools, new hunting methods, which is why we've been able to make some of our prey go extinct.
I think it's more about our ability to use advanced language than just being smart. Humans can talk, share stories, and pass down knowledge. That's how we build culture and learn from the past, and it makes a big difference.
The reason why humans are different from other animals is that our intelligence makes us adaptable. Take a lion, or a spider, or a hawk and the whole species exhibits basically the same behavior, which is based on instinct. If you saw one of them then you've kind of seen them all. Humans can change their behavior, develop new tools, new hunting methods, which is why we've been able to make some of our prey go extinct.