I don't usually post here, and I probably wont be checking back on this topic, but in defense of the dolphins, let me point out a few facts. Keep in mind that that I am mainly talking about tursiops here; other species are vastly different in intelligence, social structure, physiology, etc.
Firstly, let's remember that Einstein's brain had a higher glia cell ratio than most. Yes, that means that one of our smartest people had fewer neurons. And oh by the way, the notion that glia cells are inactive cells is utterly obsolete. Glia cells preform support functions, such as immunity (the body's regular immune system is excluded by the brain-blood barrier), and I think I remember something about them being somewhat active in the neural network itself. Scientifically, we know the basics of the brain and its consciousness, but no where near enough to make statements on processing capability like those made by this slashdot post, as we do not really understand the dynamic properties of biological neural networks.
Someone pointed out that dolphins won't jump over very short dividers at marine parks. Well, they're usually trained not to, and the pools aren't always deep enough, particularly when the dolphin is awaiting instruction in a small enclosure during a show. Why don't you try leaping 10 feet out of a pool? That whole trick is only possible because their skin deforms at high speeds allowing a top speed of 28km/h - it's not that easy to do, even for them. Btw, I had a dog who could easily have just walked over the little boards we put where we didn't want him to go, but he never went over them after we taught him not to. And dolphins have long ago been absolutely proven smarter than canines. In any case, they have been shown to overcome a variety of barriers far more complicated to get through.
"The dolphin's brain is not made for information processing it is designed to counter the thermal challenges of being a mammal in water." Excuse me? Thermal challenges? This goes back to Aristotle's ignorant theory that the brain was merely a radiator of some kind. No sir, that doesn't hold up. Dolphins keep warm with that thick layer of blubber which also convinently protects them from impacts. They can cool themselves through their fins, although cooling is obviously less of a problem, cooling is the way temperature is kept within specific bounds. I think it's also worth pointing out that dolphins have a high metabolic rate and a linear digestive track. Having a brain solely to make heat is just wasting energy. Mammals don't need a "furnace" like that, if they did dolphins would have a bad case of muscle spasms or something. Why do you think you shiver when it's cold outside?
As for goldfish being smarter than dolphins... well what data supports that? Let's list just a few things goldfish aren't so famous for: 1) A fluid, highly sophisticated social matrix. 2) Signature whistles and at least 30 or so known communication whistles (actually about 70 have been recorded though). 3) Sentence-structured lexigram comprehension, as scientifically proven by Akeakamai. 4) The most sophisticated sensorimotor system in the entire animal kingdom. Vision and echolocation are used in tandem, giving the advantages of both - vision for fast wide angle use, and echolocation for just about everything we can't see, including what's inside and too far away underwater - and oh, by the way, wild dolphins will recognize a pregnant human female and often move to protect her. They can swim almost immediately after birth which is important because dolphin calves sink until they get enough body fat to float - that's like a human newborn getting up and walking off. Without going into too much detail and angering moderator staff, both male and female dolphins can do fantastic things which demonstrate a level of voluntary control of their bodies beyond our own. Show me a goldfish that can do the equivalent of any of those things and I'll swim the English channel both ways with no breaks. 5) Quick learning
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I don't usually post here, and I probably wont be checking back on this topic, but in defense of the dolphins, let me point out a few facts.
Keep in mind that that I am mainly talking about tursiops here; other species are vastly different in intelligence, social structure, physiology, etc.
Firstly, let's remember that Einstein's brain had a higher glia cell ratio than most. Yes, that means that one of our smartest people had fewer neurons. And oh by the way, the notion that glia cells are inactive cells is utterly obsolete. Glia cells preform support functions, such as immunity (the body's regular immune system is excluded by the brain-blood barrier), and I think I remember something about them being somewhat active in the neural network itself. Scientifically, we know the basics of the brain and its consciousness, but no where near enough to make statements on processing capability like those made by this slashdot post, as we do not really understand the dynamic properties of biological neural networks.
Someone pointed out that dolphins won't jump over very short dividers at marine parks. Well, they're usually trained not to, and the pools aren't always deep enough, particularly when the dolphin is awaiting instruction in a small enclosure during a show. Why don't you try leaping 10 feet out of a pool? That whole trick is only possible because their skin deforms at high speeds allowing a top speed of 28km/h - it's not that easy to do, even for them. Btw, I had a dog who could easily have just walked over the little boards we put where we didn't want him to go, but he never went over them after we taught him not to. And dolphins have long ago been absolutely proven smarter than canines.
In any case, they have been shown to overcome a variety of barriers far more complicated to get through.
"The dolphin's brain is not made for information processing it is designed to counter the thermal challenges of being a mammal in water."
Excuse me? Thermal challenges? This goes back to Aristotle's ignorant theory that the brain was merely a radiator of some kind. No sir, that doesn't hold up. Dolphins keep warm with that thick layer of blubber which also convinently protects them from impacts. They can cool themselves through their fins, although cooling is obviously less of a problem, cooling is the way temperature is kept within specific bounds. I think it's also worth pointing out that dolphins have a high metabolic rate and a linear digestive track.
Having a brain solely to make heat is just wasting energy. Mammals don't need a "furnace" like that, if they did dolphins would have a bad case of muscle spasms or something. Why do you think you shiver when it's cold outside?
As for goldfish being smarter than dolphins... well what data supports that?
Let's list just a few things goldfish aren't so famous for:
1) A fluid, highly sophisticated social matrix.
2) Signature whistles and at least 30 or so known communication whistles (actually about 70 have been recorded though).
3) Sentence-structured lexigram comprehension, as scientifically proven by Akeakamai.
4) The most sophisticated sensorimotor system in the entire animal kingdom. Vision and echolocation are used in tandem, giving the advantages of both - vision for fast wide angle use, and echolocation for just about everything we can't see, including what's inside and too far away underwater - and oh, by the way, wild dolphins will recognize a pregnant human female and often move to protect her. They can swim almost immediately after birth which is important because dolphin calves sink until they get enough body fat to float - that's like a human newborn getting up and walking off. Without going into too much detail and angering moderator staff, both male and female dolphins can do fantastic things which demonstrate a level of voluntary control of their bodies beyond our own. Show me a goldfish that can do the equivalent of any of those things and I'll swim the English channel both ways with no breaks.
5) Quick learning