Tiny bugs can be as smart, or even smarter than bigger animals. It is said in the original post, research shows how insects are able of acting some unique ways compared to larger animals. It is also said that honeybees can count, categorize similar objects like dogs or human faces, understand things that are the same and different, and differentiate between shapes that are symmetrical and asymmetrical.
“Differences in brain size between animals is extreme: a whale’s brain can weigh up to 9 kg (with over 200 billion nerve cells), and human brains vary between 1.25 kg and 1.45 kg (with an estimated 85 billion nerve cells). A honeybee’s brain weighs only 1 milligram and contains fewer than a million nerve cells.” – Queen Mary, University of London
“In bigger brains we often don’t find more complexity, just an endless repetition of the same neural circuits over and over. This might add detail to remembered images or sounds, but not add any degree of complexity. To use a computer analogy, bigger brains might in many cases be bigger hard drives, not necessarily better processors.” – Chittka
What this all means, to sum it up, means that just because an organism has a bigger brain in mass, does not mean that it is more intelligent or smarter than the other. Like Chittka told us, “In bigger brains we often don’t find more complexity, just an endless repetition of the same neural circuits over and over. This might add detail to remembered images or sounds, but not add any degree of complexity. To use a computer analogy, bigger brains might in many cases be bigger hard drives, not necessarily better processors.” This is a great metaphor to help us understand the concept of bigger animals that have bigger brains, are not necessarily smarter or more intelligent. Fascinating study by Queen Maryfrom University of London and Chittka.
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The artist made a great point about the brain size. He showed us the examples about different organisms or animals. Some animals has huge brain, but not as smart as us, human. Sometimes not even smarter than some small insects. And the author summarized a main point: Bigger Not Necessarily Better, When It Comes to Brains.
But I want to add somethings. I read this from another place, but it is relative to this topic.
“Bigger brains make for smarter people, says Michael McDaniel, an industrial and organizational psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“For all age and sex groups, it is now very clear that brain volume and intelligence are related,” —-McDaniel
As author said, bigger brain doesn’t necessary mean you are smarter, but there is more possibility that makes smart people from bigger brain.