I note in passing that the elephant brain is not only much larger, but also has many more neurons than any human brain. Since I’ve no reason to believe the elephant brain is maximally efficient, making the same claim for our brains should require much more evidence than I’m seeing.
That’s if you’re counting the cerebellum, which doesn’t seem to contribute much to intelligence, but is important for controlling the complicated musculature of a trunk and large body.
By cortical neuron count, humans have about 18 billion, while elephants have less than 6, comparable to a chimpanzee. (source)
Elephants are undeniably intelligent as animals go, but not at human level.
Even blue whales barely approach human level by cortical neuron count, although some cetaceans (notably orcas) exceed it.
I note in passing that the elephant brain is not only much larger, but also has many more neurons than any human brain. Since I’ve no reason to believe the elephant brain is maximally efficient, making the same claim for our brains should require much more evidence than I’m seeing.
That’s if you’re counting the cerebellum, which doesn’t seem to contribute much to intelligence, but is important for controlling the complicated musculature of a trunk and large body.
By cortical neuron count, humans have about 18 billion, while elephants have less than 6, comparable to a chimpanzee. (source)
Elephants are undeniably intelligent as animals go, but not at human level.
Even blue whales barely approach human level by cortical neuron count, although some cetaceans (notably orcas) exceed it.