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PROXIES FOR SMARTS. “Brain properties assumed to be relevant for intelligence are the (absolute or relative) size of the brain, cortex, prefrontal cortex and degree of encephalization.” https://lnkd.in/drQAATA View in LinkedIn

MORE WET GOO. “The observation that absolute brain size increased over the past 2 million years is one of the few uncontested facts of hominid evolution.” https://lnkd.in/dvK-CtM View in LinkedIn

THE LADDER OF BEING. “Intelligence has evolved many times independently among vertebrates. Primates, elephants and cetaceans are assumed to be more intelligent than ‘lower’ mammals, the great apes and humans more than monkeys, and humans more than the great apes.” https://lnkd.in/drQAATA View in LinkedIn

EXCEPTIONALISM ON A BELL CURVE. “To regard the human brain as unique requires considering it to be an outlier: an exception to the rule, whatever that rule is. This makes little sense, however, in light of evolution.” https://lnkd.in/d2aUKat View in LinkedIn

ARE WE ANY DIFFERENT? “What makes us human? Is our brain, the only one known to study other brains, special in any way? According to a recent popular account of what makes us unique, “we have brains that are bigger than expected for an ape, we have a neocortex that is three times bigger than predicted for our body size, we have some areas of the neocortex and the cerebellum that are larger than expected, we have more white matter” – and the list goes on.” https://lnkd.in/d2aUKat View in LinkedIn

THE SCALING RULES. “Through the estimation of absolute numbers of neuronal and non-neuronal cells in the brains of different mammalian species and their comparison within individual orders, we have been able to determine the scaling rules that apply to the brains of species spanning a wide range of body and brain masses in rodents, primates, and more recently in insectivores.” https://lnkd.in/d2aUKat View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE considers stubborn questions of the ways we measure brain size, as human have often been singled out as somehow special as a result of their unique brains, mostly based on size compared to other primates. This persistent thread of literature defied the fact that even elephants, dolphins and whales have bigger brains than man, and even that human brain size has decreased somewhat over time. But on it went, and still persists. Enjoy some Tomfoolery. View in LinkedIn

MUSICAL SLIME MOULD. "When Miranda tickles the keys, information about the notes is sent via a microphone to a computer, which translates the sounds into electrical signals that are sent to the biocomputer. The slime mold processes these electrical signals and sends that information back to the conventional computer, which then creates voltages. These voltages cause electromagnets, hovering above the piano strings, to vibrate the strings, causing the wobbly notes you hear." https://lnkd.in/d-DJxqq View in LinkedIn

SLIME MOULD DUET. "Slime mould and researcher set to play piano duet. When the piano keys are played, the cultured slime mould responds by changing its shape, and this movement creates electrical energy. By capturing the slime mould’s electrical energy and transforming it into sound, this new technology allows the slime mould to provide an auditory response to Miranda’s original musical phrase." https://lnkd.in/d98X_Kx View in LinkedIn