TagReptile intelligence
Are There Rules Governing Which Animals Are Smart?
A neurologist makes a case for the importance of warm-bloodedness but cold-blooded reptiles can be learn surprisingly quickly
The wildly varying intelligence of big, bad, extinct T. Rex
After centuries with the “stupid” label, T. rex was found in one 2023 study to be as smart as a primate. But then…
We Knew Crows Were Smart But They Turn Out To Be Even Smarter
We are only beginning to scratch the surface of the mysteries of animal intelligenceRecently, some researchers have claimed that crows — already known to be smart — are even conscious: Nieder’s experiment showed that the birds were actively evaluating how to solve a particular problem they were confronted with. In effect, they were thinking it over. This ability to consciously assess a problem is associated with the cerebral cortex in the brains of humans. But birds have no cerebral cortex. Nieder found that in crows, thinking occurs in the pallium—the layers of gray and white matter covering the upper surface of the cerebrum in vertebrates. Other studies support the notion that the bird brain can, in principle, support the development of higher intelligence. This idea had been dismissed in the past due to Read More ›