Evolution of Intelligence More Complex Than You Might Have Thought

Intelligence comes from the Latin verb “intellegere”, which means “to understand”. By this rationale, intelligence is arguably different from being “smart”. The nature of and evolutionary development of animal intelligence is significantly more complicated than many have assumed.

Intelligence comes from the Latin verb “intellegere”, which means “to understand”. By this rationale, intelligence is arguably different from being “smart”. It is a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. We are used to thinking of humans as occupying the sole pinnacle of evolutionary intelligence. That’s where we’re wrong.

New research suggest that evolution of Intelligence is more complex than once thought:

Despite cartoons you may have seen showing a straight line of fish emerging on land to become primates and then humans, evolution is not so linear. The brains of other animals are not merely previous stages that led directly to human intelligence.

Instead — as is the case with many traits—complex brains and sophisticated cognition have arisen multiple times in independent lineages of animals during the earth’s evolutionary history.

With this new understanding comes a new appreciation for intelligence in its many forms. So-called lower animals, such as fish, reptiles and birds, display a startling array of cognitive capabilities. Goldfish, for instance, have shown they can negotiate watery mazes similar to the way rats do in intelligence tests in the lab.

One World, Many Minds: Intelligence in the Animal Kingdom

Oldest Human Brain Found

Archaeologists have found the remains of what could be Britain’s oldest surviving human brain.

Archaeologists have found the remains of what could be Britain’s oldest surviving human brain.

Human brain evolution, from the earliest shrewlike mammals through primates to hominids, is marked by a steady increase in encephalization, or the ratio of brain to body size. The human brain has been estimated to contain 50–100 billion neurons, of which about 10 billion are cortical pyramidal cells. These cells pass signals to each other via around 100 trillion synaptic connections.

According to BBC article:

Brains consist of fatty tissue which microbes in the soil would absorb, so neurologists believe the find could be some kind of fossilised brain.

The skull was found in an area first farmed more than 2,000 years ago.

More tests will now be done to establish what it is actually made of.