Fun Fact: Brain Size & Evolution

[David Morris]

Brain size versus "intelligence" starts with the fact that there is a
mostly *consistent ratio* across the large majority of species for brain
size versus body size.  But there are certain species (humans, whales,
elephants, etc.) considered to be of higher than average intelligence that
also have a consistently smaller brain/body size ratio.  One would think
the opposite should be true (remember that Outer Limits episode where the
scientist's head grows huge?), but it's not.

One might quibble about the measure or definition of intelligence,  but
those species with smaller brain/body size ratio are generally considered
to exhibit higher than average intelligence.

David Morris

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On Fri, Dec 8, 2017 at 1:31 PM, Arthur Fuller <fuller.artful at gmail.com>
wrote:

> While not being a scientist, merely a philosopher and more specifically a
> philosopher of science, I must dispute the notion that brain-size is
> equivalent to quantity of intelligence -- which, I admit, depends upon your
> unit of measure. Squirrels cannot play piano; but they can navigate trees
> and hydro wires far better than you or I. Whales can communicate over 1000
> miles. Wolves hunt in teams, isolating the most likely victim. This last is
> a double-edged sword; it may be that the most vulnerable deer sacrifices
> him/herself for the sake of the herd. That's a difficult proposition to
> prove, but I've seen similar behaviour in birds when attacked by hawks or
> falcons. I have seen this more than several times. One bird flies off from
> the rest and sacrifices her/hiself  for the sake of the rest.
>
> There is a school of thought, originating from B.F. Skinner I think, that
> supposes that all species act in their individual self-interest. Abundant
> evidence contradicts this thesis. Similarly the proposed correlation
> between brain size and intelligence. Taken literally, whales and porpoises
> and elephants would top the scale, but none of them has invented written
> language, and further, they are not very good at transmitting knowledge
> from generation to generation -- a little I grant, but not much.
>
> The evidence, insofar as my limited education reveals, is that there is no
> relation between brain size and intelligence. That also applies to the
> ability to navigate a maze.
>
> Arthur
>
> On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 10:23 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Efficiency, yes.  But the rest is a maze. But the maze is fascinating.
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 9:11 PM John Bailey <sundayjb at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I've heard that the number of folds (I'm sure there's a proper word
>>> for them) is really important too, not just the overall size. Using
>>> that thing more efficiently, as you say. I mean, computers have gotten
>>> slightly smaller in the last half century too.
>>>
>>> On Fri, Dec 8, 2017 at 2:01 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> > Fun fact: domesticated animals have evolved to have smaller brains than
>>> > their wild species cousins.  No pain, less brain (size)?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > We humans are also mostly domesticated.  Are our brains smaller than
>>> those
>>> > of our earlier cousins?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > It is also a fun fact that more intelligent species consistently have
>>> > smaller brain-to-body size ratios.  So counter intuitive, right?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Maybe brains become more efficient and smaller as intelligence grows.
>>> Maybe
>>> > intelligence grows with domestication.  But whales and elephants are
>>> on the
>>> > smaller brain, more intelligent scale, and are not "domesticated."  Are
>>> > there species (us) that have self-domesticated, therefore becoming more
>>> > intelligent?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > "Domesticated" in this context does not mean under subjection of
>>> another
>>> > species.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Just a thought...
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > David Morris
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Arthur
>
>
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