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Goldfish Smarter Than Dolphins
flergum writes "While dolphins may have big brains, laboratory rats and goldfish can outwit them. It appears that the large brains are a function of their environment rather than intelligence. From the article: 'Dolphins have a superabundance of glia and very few neurons... The dolphin's brain is not made for information processing it is designed to counter the thermal challenges of being a mammal in water.' I guess this means that the Navy will start recruiting and training goldfish for those mine search and destroy missions."
Agreed, and just because Ubuntu comes from South Africa, does not mean Paul Manger of Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand knows what he is talking about. Also, what exactly is his basis for saying that a rat outwittes a dolphin. Has he gotten them to sit down to a game of chess? I'll wait until I see a goldfish using a sponge as a tool.
Ps: My dog outwits me all the time as do the rabbits who get through my fence and eat all my broccoli. I hope some alien researcher does not make generalizations about our species based on observing me!