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If human beings were tiny could we still be "intelligent"?

techs said:
Or, in other words, does a brain have to be a certain size for human intelligence?
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Human intelligence such as emotions, self-awareness, advanced math and science? Most likely yes. Basic reasoning, problem solving and survival? Not so much. Rats can accomplish this. Also, some creatures manage to exceed the sum of their parts via a hive mind mentality and display amazing resourcefulness (see bees and ants) and logic which you wouldn't think possible given their microscopic brains. That's just plain alien to me.
 
DesiPower said:
Thats true, if we had a brain with only that 20% usable part, we would be fine... I think...
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You do realize that that's a complete fallacy right? Humans, in fact, do use the majority of their brain. There's no "magic" unused portion that gives us superpowers.
 
DesiPower said:
Thats true, if we had a brain with only that 20% usable part, we would be fine... I think...
Click to expand...

We could survive with most of our brain removed. But we'd be far from human. We only need the reptilian part of our brain to survive. This is the part that controls our autonomous body functions. But you'd be what people call "braindead."
 
Possible if the the brain cells are smaller/denser, and pending the absolute overall cranium size
 
As for the OP's question, I would say yes, the brain does need to be a certain size for our intelligence to exist. If our brains were tinier, that would mean less neurons, which would mean less intelligence.
 
So for all you human beings out there, how is it being human?

that came from my magic 80% portion....

... behold the powers of the mind!
 
Three things seem to stand out to me at least. There are probably exceptions to all of these though.

First brain mass to body mass ratio. Humans are high on this scale, but not the highest iirc. Size might be important here, even though it's a ratio.

Second, you've got to be a predator, probably an apex predator. Size is important here. As Gigantopithecus pointed out, you're not an apex predator if something can swallow you.

Third, some sort of social structure. i.e. The pack hunters end up being more intelligent than the solitary ones. I'm not sure how well this holds up to close examination though. But look at crows, porpoises, and maybe even velociraptors.
 
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