this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2025
19 points (88.0% liked)

science

23141 readers
266 users here now

A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.

rule #1: be kind

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
laverabe@lemmy.world
m3t00@lemmy.world
Joleee@lemmy.world
DeadPand@midwest.social
laverabe@lemmy.zip
19
What is the bare minimum animal where its smartest member is as smart as the dumbest human? (lemmy.world)
submitted 23 hours ago by nomorebillboards@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world
22 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Is the smartest dog smarter than the dumbest human? Smartest cat? Smartest rat? It's something I've been thinking about for several days.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 8 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

The dumbest humans are new born babies.

At least there's a burbling intelligence going on there, processing their senses, forming impressions and so forth... even if they're barely able to act on them beyond crying, gurgling and fussing.

Compare that to someone with severe brain damage, or being in a coma, or having severe mental disorders, or maybe having severe developmental issues. Those poor things. Even insects and other animals might be argued to be effectively smarter than such unfortunates.