How intelligent are we?
The section on brain size and intelligence in the book was the most interesting to me, especially when it began to compare humans with other species. As humans, we tend to see ourselves as the most advanced organism on earth. Thus when I read that humans don't have the largest brain or highest brain-to-body ratio making us not as intelligent as we thought we were, I was surprised. I began to question whether we were even intelligent enough to be superior to other organisms. I later realized that it does not matter whether a species has a larger brain or a high brain-to-body ratio, since they are all different. I do not think that intelligence should be measured by how big our brains are, rather on our actions and behaviors. A person can have the biggest brain on earth, yet does not know how to calculate a simple algorithm problem. In human standards that person would be classified as being unintelligent, even if their brain was bigger than other species. Even though some humans are not as intelligent as others, we still think of ourselves as above other species. The video that I have posted portrays a man being interviewed on a similar topic. I chose this video because I agree with what he had to say about their being a poor correlation between brains and cognitive function. He agrees that a bigger brain does not mean bigger intelligence and supports his statement by comparing humans with great apes. He also begins to question other aspects (other than the brain) that make humans better than other species.
I also found this topic very interesting, in the reading it opened up a whole new perspective of the reality that maybe humans aren't the most intelligent species. However, I have to agree also that a bigger brain does not mean greater intelligence.
ReplyDelete-Analisa Leal
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I agree with leal brain size proportional to the body for the most part does not matter. Certain animals know more than we do like a bird I read about a year ago, this bird can "know" the temperature of the nest without being in it. Scientists cant figure out how it does it but this animal is very intelligent.
ReplyDeleteI also found this particular topic to be one of the most interesting ones too. I was kind of confused about the brain-to-body ratio but was surprised when it goes on to say that our brain-to-body ratio was declining because of obesity! That is kind of scary to me. But I do agree that the size of the brain does not relate to the intelligence inside the brain.
ReplyDeleteThis topic caught my attention, I always thought "smarter people must have a bigger brain or something bigger because they're so smart" but i'm wrong! If that were the case, I dont think Albert Einstein would've fit in coffin :o
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