Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

mrxexon t1_j24027p wrote

No. A brain's processing power isn't connected to brain size. When you have big brains, it usually represents storage space for memories.

A crow is a good example. Highly intelligent with an IQ equal to a human 7 year old. Dogs and cats have bigger brains but the IQ of a human 3 year old.

3

Nervous_Breakfast_73 t1_j24ypgq wrote

Brains of birds are also wired super differently. When it comes down to it's about the number of neurons and connections that make you smart. For very small animals, size can be a limiting factor for getting super smart, but the size of cells is also different between small and big animals. So, bigger brain doesn't necessarily mean more cells and computing power

2

DefenestrationPraha t1_j250fzh wrote

There may be, tentatively, such a correlation in mammals, but as you say, certain birds are already very much a counterexample.

2

atomfullerene t1_j29sdce wrote

>A brain's processing power isn't connected to brain size.

I mean there's some connection. A roundworm with 302 neurons can't process as much as a fly, which can't process as much as a mouse, which can't process as much as a human.

But it's not at all a 1:1 variation. Especially since neuron density can vary enormously in brains of different species.

2