Problem solving skills

[besilarius]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVaITA7eBZE
We've all known people who are put to shame by this.

[LongBlade]

I watched an hour long NOVA episode on this. It's stunning how smart they are.

The real punchline to the story, however, is the brain size to body size ratio. Smaller animals need smaller brains to move smaller bodies. Larger animals need larger brains to move larger bodies. Typically there's a constant ratio of brain size to body size.

However, in certain animals the brain size is larger than the expected ratio. This happens in humans, chimps, and ravens.

So if you want to go back, for instance, and figure out whether dinosaurs were rocket scientists without opposable thumbs (or not) you need that ratio for their body size and expected brain size. Then just look over or under the ratio for the actual size found in fossils.

[besilarius]

That's a pretty good idea for determining the level of intelligence.
But does that explain insurance salesmen?

[LongBlade]

That's a pretty good idea for determining the level of intelligence.
But does that explain insurance salesmen?

There are always outliers on both sides. E.g. how we lost the brilliant work Panthers in the Fog. History will never know what could have been.