The Biggest Brain on Earth: Examining Creature Sizes

[DB]

Do we have the largest brain (in size) of any living or lived creature on earth?

Thanks

 

[cronxeh]

The size isn't what's important, its the Fourier transform that makes us cooler

 

[DB]

ya but is it the biggest in size?

 

[Bystander]

http://pharyngula.org/~pzmyers/MyersLab/teaching/Bi104/l18/eq.html

In other words, "Nope."

 

[DB]

thanks Bystander, cool chart

 

[Moonbear]

than who has the biggest brain...

According to Bystander's chart (excellent, BTW!), sperm whales (Genus: Physeter).

 

[PBRMEASAP]

Here's a somewhat related question. In the relatively short time that us homo sapiens have been around, do you think our brains have changed any? Note that I am not talking about collective knowledge--there is clearly more of that to go around now--but raw thought capacity. It occurred to me that if you could somehow have a young cave person (the newer, more PC term) live in the present, there's no reason they couldn't be an A-student. Maybe a little hairier than most, though...

 

[loseyourname]

According to Bystander's chart (excellent, BTW!), sperm whales (Genus: Physeter).

We are tops in brain mass relative to body mass, however, according to that chart. Although Grampus (dolphins) are amazingly close.

 

[scilover89]

Just wondering...what is the factor to determine cleverness, and how?

 

[ConcealedDreamer]

Just wondering...what is the factor to determine cleverness, and how?

I wish to know that myself... But think of it this way, not all humans are in the same level of intelligence. Some are smart compared to let's say...monkeys, and some are not .

 

[Hwarang]

The early cro magnons average cranial sizes 25% larger than todays average human. However the later cro magnons had smaller head sizes until eventually we have what we have today. Of course Cro Magnons are humans like us.

 

[misskitty]

I would expect that a certain species of whale to have a brain larger in size than ours, purly just because they are massive compared to us. It wouldn't be proportional for them to have a tiny brain the size of a walnut. I know are brains are larger than walnuts, but you understand what I mean.

Humans only use, what is it?, about 8% of our brain. Could you imagine what we would be like if we used ALL of our brain?

 

[Evo]

I would expect that a certain species of whale to have a brain larger in size than ours, purly just because they are massive compared to us. It wouldn't be proportional for them to have a tiny brain the size of a walnut. I know are brains are larger than walnuts, but you understand what I mean.

The brain to body proportions uses a metric called the "encephalization quotient". Humans have the highest encephalization quotient or "EQ" at around 7, meaning our brains are about 7 times larger than what would be expected based on our body size.

 

[misskitty]

If a human brain is roughly 7 times larger than what would be expected, then why is the brian so much larger, especially if we only use 8% of it?

 

[Icebreaker]

We use 100% of our brain.

 

[Jake]

Yeah, that 8% thing is just a myth.

 

[misskitty]

If its not 8% what is it?

 

[Icebreaker]

It's 100%.

 

[hitssquad]

The Ten-Percent Myth.

 

[misskitty]

Pretty interesting stuff. Definitely proved me wrong. Good site, Hitssquad.

 

[Billy T]

The early cro magnons average cranial sizes 25% larger than todays average human. However the later cro magnons had smaller head sizes until eventually we have what we have today. Of course Cro Magnons are humans like us.

You are also probably familiar with the fact there were many hominoids until something happened, beginning about 50,000 years ago. Although nothing much happened in the preceeding million years, suddenly one group "exploded" Out of Africa and in only 20,000 years all the others, including the stronger and bigger brained Neanderthals, were gone. The attachment gives a possible reason for this event. It also explains many other things, that do not appear to be related to each other. It is a paradigm shift, well suported by facts, but all such shift meet with resistance as many important people have vested interest in the established theories.

 

[nipwoni]

If you're talking about Homo sapiens sapiens, our own subspecies, brain function/size/organization have not changed significantly since the beginning (Cro Magnon days). So you're right, PBRMEASAP, you could take a Cro Magnon kid and raise him in a modern family, and he'd do fine- or take a modern infant and send him back 50,000 years or so and he'd do fine too.
There have been other "subspecies" within Homo sapiens, including Neandertals and various types of archaic Homo sapiens, and they did have brains different from ours.