Sophont vs Savant - What's the difference?
sophont | savant |
(chiefly, science fiction) An intelligent being; a being with a base reasoning capacity roughly equivalent to or greater than that of a human being. The word does not apply to machines unless they have true artificial intelligence, rather than mere processing capacity.
* {{quote-book
, year = 1966
, first = Poul
, last = Anderson
, authorlink = Poul Anderson
, title = Trouble Twisters
, passage = Likewise with the psychology of intelligent species. Most sophonts indeed possess basic instincts which diverge more or less from man's. With those of radically alien motivations we have little contact.
}}
* 1980 , , p50
* 1992 , , Tor Books, p406
* 1997 , , Lifehouse , Baen Books, p2
* 2004 , Howard Tayler , Mar. 28, 2004, web-comic / self-published
* 2007 , Howard Tayler, , Nov. 30, 2007, web-comic / self-published
* 2009 , Howard Tayler, , Oct. 11, 2009, web-comic / self-published
As nouns the difference between sophont and savant
is that sophont is an intelligent being; a being with a base reasoning capacity roughly equivalent to or greater than that of a human being. The word does not apply to machines unless they have true artificial intelligence, rather than mere processing capacity while savant is a person of learning; one who is versed in literature or science.sophont
English
Noun
(en noun)- I'm honored to meet a sophont of the Soro line in person!
- Evil, they argued, could only have meaning on smaller scales, in the hurt that one sophont does to another.
- Only one sophont appeared to be involved—and not a sophisticated one.
- Like most sensible sophonts , they invented civilization. With civilization came civility, civil service, and of course civil war.
- As I understand it, he sought to avoid turning one-point-six trillion terran sophonts into undead, war-mongering super-soldiers.
- Reflection on the nature of sapience, and the ubiquity of violence among sophonts ?
