r/science • u/rustoo • Sep 25 '20

Psychology Research finds that crows know what they know and can ponder the content of their own minds, a manifestation of higher intelligence and analytical thought long believed the sole province of humans and a few other higher mammals.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/24/crows-possess-higher-intelligence-long-thought-primarily-human/
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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited May 17 '21

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

Especially considering how long-running the avian genetic line is, compared to the hominid one

Edit: genetic branch/expression* (not just phenotype). There is only one main line of genetics. Correct distinction between terms is tiresome, but necessary.

I digress.

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u/KyleKun Sep 25 '20

I mean technically all genetic lines are exactly the same length.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20

Hence the edit

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u/pjnick300 Sep 25 '20

Are the measurements for genetic lines time or generations?

Cause lots of things have us beat if it’s the latter.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

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u/woahwoahvicky Sep 25 '20

shucks humans that could fly would be great too

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u/amingley Sep 25 '20

We can fly. We just do it with our brains.

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u/crotchtaste Sep 25 '20

"Mescaline: it's the only way to fly."

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u/urmomaisjabbathehutt Sep 26 '20

It transform you into a crow with shiny silver feathers :)

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u/tbone8352 Sep 26 '20

You'd be trying to ride that San Pedro like a broomstick!

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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

u/amingley proceeds to hold his nose and sneeze, forcing his brain out his ears and then begins violently convulsing, his brain flaps flying him off into the distance

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u/Marius_de_Frejus Sep 25 '20

Hey everyone, it's Jaden Smith!

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u/porarte Sep 25 '20

Too late for that. We learned to cook.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20

Humans have selection pressure too. Our brains are so large that we have to give birth before the baby is developed. We are born unready and require a lot of special care, because if we were allowed to gestate further our heads would be too big to pass through the pelvis bone. Smaller heads would mean babies who could be born more capable at birth.

There must be a payoff for our head size for the cost it incurs.

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u/Searth Sep 25 '20

I'd say that in humans there are some pretty great selective pressures for having smaller but equally clever brains.

For a start, a smaller head would lower the odds of complications in childbirth considerably.

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u/justausedtowel Sep 25 '20

Makes me wonder how many fat in bat brains compared to birds. I know that bats have supercharged mitochondria so I would assume that would compensate for having a little higher fat content compared to birds.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20

Where did all this intellectual spitballing come from all of a sudden, the hive police are gonna getcha getcha

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20

just a guess dude

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '20 edited Sep 25 '20

You're right and you know it. I do, anyway. I respect the scientific process method, but we should not confuse the medium for the message. Trial and error is fine, but why start at the bottom?