Let’s discuss the matter of intelligence a bit.
Intelligence includes three processes in relation to time. There is Memorization, to remember the past. There is Cognition, to synthesize the present. And there is Prediction, to anticipate and decide about the future. All of these together, represent a bulk of the definition of ‘intelligence’. Thus the more intelligent an organism is (a particular human), the superior ability it will have to memorize, cognize, and predict.
Superior memorization is fuller, more accurate memories. Some recent, modern phenomenons of this, are the “Genius-Savants” who can look at an image, and paint or draw it based on memory. They have advanced, evolved, specialized memorization. Thus their mental ability to memorize is superior than average humans. Similarly, humans may specialize in Cognition, sensing the immediate present, and reacting quickly. Sports athletes, MMA fighters, soldiers, many people have distinct advantages in faster cognition and sensing abilities. For example, an NFL quarterback must make decisions rapidly, based on rapidly changing information, variables, threats, etc. Thus superior cognition is an advantage.
Superior predictability is an extension of memorization and logic. Human intelligence is defined and described as vastly superior to other animals and organisms, because human memorization is extensive. Consider books, texts, transcriptions, videos, recordings, and other information. All of this lends to massive amounts of memorization and memories that collective humanity pools together, and can use, to decide, anticipate, and predict future events. Thus humans can abstract and project in ways never done in previous eras. Human predictability (mental Projection), is evolving, along with the other cognitive faculties, or human intelligence in general.
All of this coincides with Causation, by how humanity understands “logic and rationality”. Logic and rationality is synonymous with ascribing causes between the “Objective” and “Subjective” world. In other words, there is the way the world is (objectivity) versus your singular human perspective (subjectivity). The world is one way, and your mind cognizes and renders existence, according to your individuality and perspective. The problem with this is, that people have different and unique perspectives, and thus will not share exactly the same experiences, but they can be similar. Thus when people attempt to communicate, there are barriers of understanding and empathy.
The same is true for Causation. What one person knows of causality, as a process of his or her rationality, is not the same as others.
People instinctively desire to “find cause” for most occurrences of life, hence the questions of “Why?” and “How?” Everytime why and how are asked, these are symbolic of the human need to find cause for existential concerns, which also revolve around anxiety and angst.
Because “knowledge is power”. The more that a human accurately and correctly understands the general, existential “causes of things”, the more confident and self-assured he or she becomes living life and navigating the harshness and cruelty of Nature. Knowledge and intelligence increase survivability and chance for survival. Collectively, summed together, the human specie “evolves” corresponding to all this.