[Eug]

Dolphins smart? Ha!

For years, humans have assumed the large brains of dolphins meant the mammals were highly intelligent.

Paul Manger from Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, however, says it is not intelligence that created the dolphin super-brain – it's the cold.

In order to survive underwater, these warm-blooded animals developed brains that have a lot of the insulating material – called glia – but not too many neurons, which is the grey stuff that counts for reasoned thinking.

[Gossamer]

No smart animal would subject themselves to crap like that.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Eug

Where can I get a pair of shoes like that?

[Landos Mustache]

I guess that makes us the stupid ones for taking that long to figure it out.

No wonder we don't understand what they are saying to one another... turns out neither do they.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Eug

For years, humans have assumed the large brains of dolphins meant the mammals were highly intelligent.

Paul Manger from Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, however, says it is not intelligence that created the dolphin super-brain – it's the cold.

He's saying we haven't ever looked to the way dolphins learn, play, socialize, etc., as evidence for intelligence, as well? I mean, that was probably the first evidence; the scientific study of brain size most likely came later.

In order to survive underwater, these warm-blooded animals developed brains that have a lot of the insulating material – called glia – but not too many neurons, which is the grey stuff that counts for reasoned thinking.

Neurobiology is still a developing field. There are amazing things the brain does that we just can't explain yet. Glia and neurons are probably not as separate as this writer, ahem, assumes.

[Eug]

This is what he also said:

”Goldfish can solve problems that dolphins can't. When a goldfish jumps out of its bowl, it's thinking past its immediate environment. Dolphins don't have the cognitive leap,” Mr. Manger said in a telephone interview Thursday.

I don't buy the above statement either, but I have never been a believer of the popular idea that dolphins are smarter than all other mammals besides apes.

[Monique]

Which species is the smartest hard one, the humans for using animals for their own selfish pleasure or animals that want to cohabitate in peace.

[davesimondotcom]

Dan Marino always struck me as kind of dumb compared to the other QBs from the vaunted 1983 draft... maybe this is why.

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by Monique

Which species is the smartest hard one, the humans for using animals for their own selfish pleasure or animals that want to cohabitate in peace.

Sorry, I missed the press conference where animals all got together and declared they wanted to cohabitate in peace.

Seems rather presumptuous of you to assume you know what animals want.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by Monique

Which species is the smartest hard one, the humans for using animals for their own selfish pleasure or animals that want to cohabitate in peace.

Oh, you mean like all of those animals that eat each other?

[Lava Lamp Freak]

From Wiki.

Dolphins are the second most intelligent creatures on Earth (after mice) and tried in vain to warn humans of the impending destruction of the planet. However, their behavior was misinterpreted as playful acrobatics.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak

From Wiki.

That's a Simpson's Halloween episode, right? IIRC it sucked.

[ghporter]

Dolphins demonstrate quite a variety of behaviors that go beyond the level of mentation dogs, horses, and other non-primates demonstrate. Their social structure is quite complex, too, implying a significant intellectual structure to manage and intergrate the social structure. One of my psychology professors got her PhD working with them, and she used their abilities to demonstrate quite a number of human constructs.

With that said, I haven't seen anything that beats the kind of imaginative communication Koko the gorilla demonstrated, though there's quite a lot of background showing that dolphins train their trainers quite skillfully.

[Rumor]

They taste good on wheat bread with pickles and mayo.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Gossamer

That's a Simpson's Halloween episode, right? IIRC it sucked.

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[paul w]

"So long and thanks for all the fish."

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by ghporter

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I knew that sounded familiar.

Turns out I was thinking of Treehouse of Horror XI:
c). "Night of the Dolphin"

Lisa lets a dolphin go free but it turns out this particular dolphin is the dolphin's king. Now that he has his freedom he plots to take his revenge on the land dwelling humans. Soon the dolphins are back on land where they've belonged all along and the humans are banished to the sea.

[Millennium]

Originally Posted by Monique

Which species is the smartest hard one, the humans for using animals for their own selfish pleasure or animals that want to cohabitate in peace.

I take it you've never seen dolphins around sharks, have you?

[Salty]

Originally Posted by Eug

This is what he also said:

”Goldfish can solve problems that dolphins can't. When a goldfish jumps out of its bowl, it's thinking past its immediate environment. Dolphins don't have the cognitive leap,” Mr. Manger said in a telephone interview Thursday.

I don't buy the above statement either, but I have never been a believer of the popular idea that dolphins are smarter than all other mammals besides apes.

Yes cause it's always smart to jump out of the place where you're regularly getting fed fish, don't have to worry about natural predators, and get to screw with these silly people that keep feeding you.

[Eug]

Goldfish tricks!

[jckalen]

re: goldfish tricks

That man is the perfect definition for "too much time on one's hands".

Having said that... wow! how friggin cool!

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Eug

Goldfish tricks!

Unbelievable

Somebody do that with turtles, please !

-t