Not necessarily. There are other factors that, added, help to measure intelligence. After all, if that were the case, in the reporter’s place, this story would be being written by a blue whale, with its 10 kg of brain, the largest in the animal kingdom. One of the factors to define the degree of intelligence is the proportion of the brain in relation to the body. But this calculation does not explain everything (by it, we would be tied with rats, with 2%). In the case of mammals, another issue is the area occupied by the neocortex, the outer part of the brain, which gives it its wrinkled appearance. The more wrinkles, by the way, the greater the processing capacity in the brain. Mice, for example, have nearly smooth brains. On the other hand, birds, reptiles and some insects, such as bees, have some functional structures similar to the neocortex, but less complex.
– The average human brain weighs 1.5 kg. In an 80 kg man, it gives almost 2%.
– The complexity of the brain grows with the difficulties of animals in evolution. That of humans increased as we began to live in society.
ANIMAL CURRICULUM
Check out the abilities of some animals and the proportional size of their brains in relation to their body mass
executive
Proportion: 15.6%
In addition to living in the complex hierarchical structure of hives, the bee (which weighs 0.083 g and has 0.013 g of brain alone) is able to perceive the consequences of its actions and focus on them to achieve a certain result (quality used by beekeepers to increase productivity)
Family father
Proportion: 4%
The red-necked hummingbird courts its mates, raises offspring, and seasonally migrates to distant places. With 1 g of brain and 25 g of total weight, it is also able to work well with patterns, which helps you to identify which flowers are richest in pollen
“I’m Beautiful”
Proportion: 1%
500 g is how much a chimpanzee’s brain weighs, which has an average of 50 kg. Like the great primates, he can recognize himself in front of a mirror. He is also able to analyze what others in his group are thinking and has feelings such as envy, anger and shame.
dolphin
Proportion: 0.94%
The dolphin practically has its own language, with gestures and body signs. With 1.6 kg of brain in 170 kg, he leads a hectic sex life, which he uses as a means of socialization – what for us would seem like a rape is nothing more than a “tight hug” from him
Psychologist
Proportion: 0.7%
Always with humans, the dog recognizes our expressions and even our eyes. Thanks to its 70 g brain (in 10 kg of total weight), it makes associations easily. Police dogs, for example, sniff out drugs because they know they will get a reward later.
moody
Proportion: 0.5%
The cat quickly learns to manipulate us, after millennia living with men. The cat can, for example, produce meows in specific tones to “say” what it wants or interpret orders and decide not to obey them. It weighs, on average, 7 kg, and the brain, 35 g
Sensitive
Proportion: 0.15%
The African elephant organizes its village almost like a “city”, with defined groups and leadership posts. The animal, weighing 5 tons and having a brain of 7.5 kg, mourns when a loved one dies. There are cases of orphaned elephants who spend years in depression #quedó
IN THE LANTERN
The least cerebral animals in the animal kingdom
What a life!
Proportion: 0.017%
The hippopotamus is not a complete guava. The 3-ton animal takes advantage of its mini-brain (500 g) to plan laziness, such as stretching its feet to be massaged by the fish
XL size
Proportion: 0.005%
The blue whale weighs 200 tons, but its brain weighs only 10 kg. Despite having good communication, she is not the smartest of creatures, as controlling her colossal size requires a lot of brain capacity.
Empty head
Proportion:-
The cockroach doesn’t even have a brain! In its place, it has the cephalothorax, an organ that crosses its body and only serves to keep it alive. Maybe that explains that story about surviving without a head…
SOURCES Benito Damasceno, professor at Unicamp; books A Evolução do Cérebro, by Paulo Dalgalorrondo, Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins, by Maddalena Bearzi, and A Cabeça do Cachorro, by Alexandra Horovitz